Aston Villa blew a two-goal lead in an exhilarating 3-3 home draw with Brentford on Saturday afternoon, adding another layer to an already dramatic Premier League top-four race. Ollie Watkins scored two headers - the first and last goals of the game - and Morgan Rogers opened his account but a tremendous 10-minute second-half spell ultimately earned the Bees a determined point.
The first 45 minutes were actually rather uneventful with just a handful of chances but Villa went into the interval ahead. Set pieces looked the only route to goal however a brief Bees let-up saw Unai Emery’s men take the lead in the 39th minute. John McGinn swung in a brilliant cross and Watkins met it strongly, Flekken only able to push it onto the post before Leon Bailey made sure. Watkins’ attempt had already crossed the line and the England international rightfully claimed his 17th Premier League goal of the campaign.
Rogers gave the Villa Park faithful a dream start to the second half, doubling his side’s lead with a tremendous solo strike within merely 32 seconds. The winter signing took a Youri Tielemans pass into his path and chopped away from Kristoffer Ajer before finding the near bottom corner with a reverse drive. The technique and composure displayed were immense as Rogers netted his first Villa goal and his first in the Premier League.
Brentford gave themselves a lifeline in the 59th minute, taking advantage of Villa’s defensive disarray. Lucas Digne was caught completely out of position - leaving the hosts outnumbered in their own box - and Zanka’s miskick made its way into the bottom right corner for 2-1. Reguilon’s cross found Mikkel Damsgaard and the Dane’s scuffed shot arrived at the feet of Zanka to score.
Just two minutes after their first, the Bees sensationally struck again to make it 2-2, Mbuemo sending the away support into bedlam with a well-executed volley. It was Reguilon’s crossing again that thrust Villa’s defence open and Pau Torres offered no competition for Mbuemo in the box, leaving his man open and failing to get in the way of the shot. Ezri Konsa should’ve done better too as the right-back was slow to press Reguilon.
Then, rather incredibly, Thomas Frank’s side netted to make it 2-3. Villa were stunned as a cross-field pass found Reguilon and the left-back repeated his earlier success, squaring the ball for Yoane Wissa to tap home. But the complexion of the clash changed yet again in the 80th minute as Watkins scored his second header of the match to lift Villa Park’s spirits. The striker found a gap between two Brentford defenders and beat Flekken to the ball, nodding in from a deep Leon Bailey cross to equalise.
The men in claret and blue looked the likelier to score again and there was great belief when seven minutes were added on but the clash ended all square. Douglas Luiz, walking a suspension tightrope with nine yellows before this cut-off-point game, made it all the way to the 97th minute before receiving a costly booking. He’ll now miss the next two Premier League fixtures. Here are our home player ratings from an eventful six-goal draw at Villa Park.
1. Emiliano Martinez - 5
Didn’t make a single save as all three Brentford shots on target were scored. Not exactly at fault for any of them, though.
2. Ezri Konsa - 3
Really struggled up against Reguilon, giving the Spaniard far too much room to cross on several occasions. This was costly for all three of Brentford goals.
3. Diego Carlos - 5
At fault for Brentford’s third as he allowed Wissa to dart away and score. It was a shame as he had an excellent first half that included a last-ditch tackle on Mbuemo.
4. Pau Torres - 3
Solid in the first half but undid his good work with three big defensive errors. Didn’t step up to mark Zanka for 2-1, left Mbuemo unmarked and unable to get in the way of the shot for 2-2, and then in no man’s land for Wissa’s tap-in for 2-3.