Player ratings from Aston Villa’s trip to Brentford in the Premier League.

Dango Ouattara’s 12th-minute debut strike was enough to resort Aston Villa to a disappointing 1-0 defeat away at Brentford on Saturday afternoon.

A ponderous Villa stuttered through the first period and were lucky to go into half time just the one down, as Mikkel Damsgaard saw a gorgeous volley controversially ruled out for a Nathan Collins foul on Emiliano Martinez. There was an improvement after the break as Villa began to move the ball a little quicker, but there was no breakthrough despite chances for Morgan Rogers, Emiliano Buendia and Amadou Onana.

Brentford, sat in a low block after Ouattara’s opener, offered very little going forward in the second half – but they didn’t need to as holding onto their advantage was their priority. It was a ruthless goal that they scored, too, as new £42.5 million signing Ouattara rounded off a route-one counter-attack on his first appearance in red and white.

Caoimhin Kelleher’s long pass over the top was flicked on by Igor Thiago, Pau Torres failed to deal with it and was beaten to the ball by Ouattara, who raced through on goal. Emiliano Martinez did well to save Ouattara’s first effort but the attacker followed up to net on the rebound for 1-0.

Villa, toothless for much of the game, were unable to break down Brentford’s resilient defence. Just one point in the first two fixtures leaves the Villans down in 16th in the Premier League, below all three newly-promoted teams.

Aston Villa player ratings vs Brentford

Here’s how the Villa players rated in a lacklustre display at the Gtech Community Stadium.

Emiliano Martinez - Made a decent save from Ouattara but couldn’t stop the winning goalscorer on the rebound. Otherwise hardly tested on his return. 6

Matty Cash - Tracked back to try and make up for Pau’s error but was unable to stop Ouattara opening the scoring. Whipped in a few alright corners from the right but was pretty quiet from open play. 5

Tyrone Mings - The best defender on the day as he outmuscled Thiago on several occasions and made half-a-dozen headed clearances. Didn’t seem to mind playing at right centre-back in Ezri Konsa’s absence despite being left footed. Pulled up towards the end but carried on as all five subs had been made. 7

Pau Torres - Came in for the suspended Konsa and had a clumsy game. Pau looked cumbersome in possession and was very much at fault for Brentford’s opener, beaten to Thiago’s knock-on before failing to tackle Ouattara. 4

Lucas Digne (off 64’) - Didn’t do much wrong defensively but was poor going forward, hardly a threat despite being so advanced on the left. 5

Boubacar Kamara (off 16’) - Went off with an injury after a shaky start. It looked like a hamstring problem. 6

Amadou Onana (off 64’) - Probably given the nod due to his physicality but he was weak in several challenges, including one early on that allowed a Brentford counter. Had a better spell at beginning of the second half but was withdrawn as Emery rolled the dice. 5

John McGinn (off 74’) - Once again not at his best on the right as Villa lacked pace and direction. Made a brave block from a Henderson shot at close range and saw one decent shot saved, but not as creative as hoped. 5

Morgan Rogers - Struggled to make an impact as he was dispossessed far more often than usual. Probably had Villa’s best chance but it was blocked by Kayode. 5

Youri Tielemans - Not bad, but not great either. Incisive with a few passes but not regularly enough. Unlucky not to score with a great half-volleyed attempt on the half-hour mark. 6

Ollie Watkins - Hardly involved as Villa failed to provide any opportunities. Would have loved another goal against his former club, but it wasn’t to be. 5

Emi Buendia (on 16’, off 74’) - Came on for the injured Kamara and was lively in between the lines, albeit not clinical enough with either of his shots, one of which was an ambitious bicycle kick. Strangely came off late on despite being Villa’s most influential player in the second half. 6

Donyell Malen (on 64’) - Didn’t have the desired impact off the bench. There’s been many suggestions the Dutchman should be starting after a stellar pre-season, and understandably so, but he didn’t do anything to warrant a place in the XI next week. 5

Ian Maatsen (on 64’) - Similarly to Digne, Maatsen wasn’t able to find enough space to cross often enough. 6

Lamare Bogarde (on 74’) - Not a great deal to note from his quarter of an hour. 6

Evann Guessand (on 75’) - Threw himself about a bit to try and force an opening in Brentford’s compact low block but didn’t have any chances to score. 6