Tammy Abraham was denied a goal on his Aston Villa return as VAR intervened in the 1-0 defeat to Brentford.placeholder image
Tammy Abraham was denied a goal on his Aston Villa return as VAR intervened in the 1-0 defeat to Brentford. | AFP via Getty Images
Premier League result, player ratings and report after Aston Villa 0-1 Brentford.
Aston Villa’s Premier League title challenge died a death at the hands of 10-man Brentford, as Dango Ouattara’s tidy finish just before half time was enough to earn the Bees a shock 1-0 win at Villa Park.
The Villans, who will feel robbed by the harsh VAR decision to disallow Tammy Abraham a romantic goal on his return, suffered a second successive home Premier League defeat for the first time since February 2024.
Villa will have licked their lips when Kevin Schade saw red in the 39th minute, after kicking out at Matty Cash and catching the Villa right-back in the never region. But Brentford, against all the odds, scored the only goal immediately afterward as Ouattara found the far top corner from the tightest of angles.
It was a cheap goal to concede as Morgan Rogers gave the ball away in midfield and the Bees pounced on the counter, setting Ouattara free down the right. Brentford’s record signing saw his first shot blocked by Ezri Konsa but arrowed his second into the roof of the net, giving Emiliano Martinez no chance.
Emery went gung-ho with a half-time change, taking off defensive midfielder Lamare Bogarde for winger Leon Bailey. It represented a change to a 4-1-4-1 structure in possession, with Emiliano Buendia then dropping into a double pivot when Villa were on the back foot.
Abraham’s cruelly disallowed goal came in the 49th minute as the winter signing fired home on the rebound from a Jadon Sancho strike. There wasn’t even a sniff of offside, yet VAR still got involved, controversially disallowing the goal for the ball going out of play. Bailey had slipped on the ball at the opposite end of the field and VAR judged it to have crossed the line. Either way, it was a good 20 seconds before the goal had been scored.
The hosts were motivated to put things right but Brentford defended heroically, keeping Villa at bay for the most part. Even a rare cameo for Harvey Elliott - who now only has three appearances left before his loan move from Liverpool would turn permanent - couldn’t inspire a comeback. Neither could the returns of Douglas Luiz and Leon Bailey, who each missed good opportunities.
Emery and his men have six days to go away and lick their wounds, at least, but the defeat to the Bees will sting for a while.
Goalkeeper and defence ratings
Emiliano Martinez: Beaten from a very tight angle by Ouattara and didn’t make any saves. Claimed a few crosses but didn’t do enough to make up for the goal conceded. 5
Matty Cash: Knew exactly what he was doing in his battle with Schade, winding up the German who ended up seeing red. Cash did well defensively and was heavily involved down the right. But in the end, he and Villa proved toothless. 7
Ezri Konsa: The skipper’s poor block fell straight into Ouattara’s path for Brentford’s goal. He was otherwise solid defensively against Thiago, keeping the Brazilian quiet. Konsa missed a good chance in the first half, volleying well wide from a Luiz free-kick. 6
Pau Torres: Pau made an important clearance off the line to stop Brentford scoring a second after half time. He also made plenty of passes into the final third. 7
Ian Maatsen: Caught out of position ahead of Ouattara’s goal, allowing the winger too much space in behind. Provided good width down the left but didn’t cause enough problems with his crosses and saw an ambitious volley fly over the bar. 6
Midfield and attack ratings
Tammy Abraham was denied a goal on his Aston Villa return as VAR intervened in the 1-0 defeat to Brentford.placeholder image
Tammy Abraham was denied a goal on his Aston Villa return as VAR intervened in the 1-0 defeat to Brentford. | AFP via Getty Images
Lamare Bogarde (off 46’): Struggled in the first half as he was often outmuscled in duels. Bogarde flattered to deceive on a few occasions as he skipped away from challenges but then gave the ball away further upfield. He was hooked at the break as Emery changed system. 5
Douglas Luiz: Showed great quality on set pieces, picking out Maatsen and Konsa for volleys in the first half. Forced a diving stop from Kelleher midway through the second half and was always trying to up the ante as Villa chased the game. A shining light. 8
Emiliano Buendia: Unlike against Tottenham and Newcastle, Buendia couldn’t be the difference maker again on this occasion. The Argentine lost his head in the second half. 6
Jadon Sancho (off 77’): Had lots of defensive work as he tracked Henry’s runs in the first half. Sancho, whose shot was saved before Abraham’s disallowed goal, always looked to take on his man but the problem was his low success rate. Fans grew frustrated by Sancho’s decision-making. 6
Morgan Rogers: Two years to the day Rogers joined the club, he was unable to find a way through. There were so many promising moments but Brentford blocked pretty much all of Rogers’ shots. He so nearly squeezed one into the near post at the end but Kelleher was equal to it. 6
Tammy Abraham: Denied a goal on his second Villa debut and 400th career club appearance. It was a great finish on the rebound from Abraham but VAR were very pedantic. The striker showed some good movement in the first half but was isolated in the second, despite Villa’s dominance. 6
Substitutes ratings
Leon Bailey (on 46’): Had to do better with a chance in the 90th minute and had been a little too slow in possession before then. 5
Harvey Elliott (on 77’): Emery used up one of Elliott’s four remaining appearances - before his loan turns permanent - but to little effect. 6
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