Villa's title hopes suffer blow with shock defeat to 10-man Brentford

Dango Ouattara was the hero as Brentford overcame Kevin Schade's red card to earn an impressive 1-0 victory over Premier League title hopefuls Aston Villa.

Brentford looked to be in trouble at Villa Park when Schade was dismissed for violent conduct in the 42nd minute, having kicked out at Matty Cash.

But they stunned Unai Emery's men in the second minute of first-half stoppage time, with Ouattara firing a sensational left-footed strike into the far corner.

Having returned to Villa from Besiktas in a permanent transfer, Tammy Abraham saw a potential equaliser disallowed early in the second half, with the hosts laying siege to Brentford's penalty area from then on.

But they were unable to force an equaliser and now trail leaders Arsenal by seven points, while the win lifts Brentford to seventh in the table, five points off the top four.

How the match unfolded

Making his first appearance for Villa since May 2019, Abraham broke through on goal in the 15th minute but was denied by Caoimhin Kelleher.

Ezri Konsa then blazed over from Douglas Luiz's delivery, but Villa looked to be in the ascendency when Schade kicked out at Cash following a tussle between the two players.

However, Brentford made light of their numerical disadvantage to take the lead four minutes later, with Ouattara blasting into the top-left corner after his attempted cross ricocheted back to him off Pau Torres.

Abraham thought he had levelled early in the second half, having pounced on the rebound of Jadon Sancho's parried shot, but the goal was disallowed following a VAR review due to Leon Bailey touching the ball out of play earlier in the move.

Kelleher then denied Cash on two occasions, with Morgan Rogers getting a chance on the rebound after the second save, though his volley bounced on to the roof of the net.

Bailey curled over following a menacing run as the fourth official signalled for 10 minutes of second-half stoppage time, and Torres headed over from Villa's final chance.

Injury-hit Villa fail to fire

Emery said after Thursday's comeback victory over Salzburg – which secured a second-place finish in the UEFA Europa League standings – that Villa were unfazed by the prospect of juggling multiple competitions in the coming months.

But Villa are counting the cost of their busy schedule, with Ollie Watkins joining Youri Tielemans, John McGinn and Boubacar Kamara on their lengthy injury list.

Those selection issues gave Emery little choice but to start returning duo Abraham and Luiz, who both acquitted themselves well – the former was unfortunate when he stroked home in the 49th minute, only for replays to show Bailey had failed to keep the ball in play near his own corner flag, within the attacking-possession phase.

One slack moment at the back cost Villa, as they were caught out by Kristoffer Ajer's hoisted ball down the right flank.

Ian Maatsen was nowhere to be seen as Ouattara initially collected the ball, then was off-balance when the Brentford man lashed home on the rebound.

And for all their dominance in the second half, Villa were mostly restricted to half chances. The fact Emery only made two substitutions, meanwhile, shows how his squad has been stretched thin.

Now well off the pace at the summit, Villa go to AFC Bournemouth in six days time, and Emery will know a defeat at Vitality Stadium might end their title dreams.

Brentford left buzzing after superb away performance

Brentford came into this game off the back of successive defeats, while they had only won once on the road since October, against bottom club Wolverhampton Wanderers in December.

And Keith Andrews must have feared the worst when Schade petulantly kicked out at Cash after becoming entangled with his opponent in the Villa right-back position.

Brentford had looked impressive when the game was 11 against 11, with Mathias Jensen firing wide and Schade completely missing his kick after a trademark long throw from Michael Kayode caused chaos in the Villa area.

And after being reduced to 10 men, the Bees did not sit back and try to ride out the rest of the first half. Ouattara continued to buzz around Villa's backline, and he combined a desire to run the channels with outstanding technique for his goal.

The visitors had to defend resolutely in the second half, and Andrews anticipated the barrage of Villa pressure by introducing Nathan Collins as a third centre-back after 59 minutes.

Every Villa attack was met by a wall of sky blue shirts, with Brentford's defenders proving adept at stopping crosses early and throwing themselves in front of shots.

This was the perfect performance from an away underdog, and Brentford might need something similar when they visit Newcastle United next Saturday.

Club reports

Aston Villa report | Brentford report

What the managers said 

Unai Emery: "They competed fantastically. We tried everything but they have the habit to defend with their experience in the Premier League.

"When they needed to play defensively, they did fantastic. They were resilient and we tried everything."

Keith Andrews: "This is right up there, with the circumstances going down to 10 men. The pride, performance level and the spirit of the group, it doesn't surprise me. The lads were magnificent."

Next PL fixtures

Key facts

Brentford recorded their first-ever win across all competitions against Aston Villa at Villa Park in what was their 12th attempt, whilst it was only the third time they kept a clean sheet away against Aston Villa (also in January 1953 and September 2017).

This was Brentford’s first Premier League away victory against a team starting the day in the top four since beating Man City in November 2022. Prior to today, the Bees were winless in their last nine away league games against those sides (three draws and six losses).

Aston Villa lost a Premier League match in which the opponent received a first half red card for the first time since April 2021, when they went down 2-1 against a Man City side who saw John Stones dismissed.

Aston Villa completed 355 passes in the second half, their most passes in a single half of Premier League of football on record (since 2003/04).