EPL: Aston Villa Edge Brentford 1-0 to End Winless Streak

Ollie Watkins' strike proved the difference as Aston Villa ended their winless streak with a 1-0 victory over Brentford at the Gtech Community Stadium.

Aston Villa made history by securing a Premier League victory immediately following a UEFA Champions League fixture for the first time since September. They achieved this feat with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Brentford, extending the hosts' winless streak at home to eight matches across all competitions.

Aston Villa's past performances following European matches had been underwhelming, suggesting they might struggle to build on their midweek win over Club Brugge in the Champions League round of 16. This notion seemed plausible early on when John McGinn gave the ball away inside his penalty area, but a crucial challenge by Youri Tielemans denied Yoane Wissa a clear scoring opportunity.

As the match progressed, Unai Emery's Aston Villa side gained momentum. Jacob Ramsey and Leon Bailey attempted to break the deadlock, while Tyrone Mings directed a Tielemans free-kick straight at Mark Flekken. Tielemans continued to pose a threat, testing Flekken from a tight angle after a powerful run into the box. The resulting corner led to a chance for Ramsey, whose cross was knocked back across goal by Tielemans, nearly resulting in an own goal by Ethan Pinnock.

Although Aston Villa were dominating the match, Brentford briefly thought they had taken the lead 10 minutes before halftime. Yoane Wissa tapped the ball into the net after rounding Robin Olsen, but he was correctly flagged for offside, and the goal was disallowed.

Aston Villa were seeking to complete a league double over Brentford for the first time since 1947, and they took a significant step towards achieving this feat early in the second half. Youri Tielemans initiated a counter-attack, which culminated in Jacob Ramsey finding Ollie Watkins on the left flank. Watkins cut inside and unleashed a shot from a narrow angle, which deflected off Kristoffer Ajer and beat Mark Flekken to give Villa the lead.

Villa thought they had doubled their advantage just two minutes later when Ollie Watkins turned provider for Rogers, but VAR intervened, spotting an offside in the build-up to the goal. The decision was correctly made, and the score remained 1-0 in favor of Aston Villa.

Brentford attempted to mount a comeback, but Aston Villa's defense held firm, preventing the hosts from creating a clear-cut opportunity until the 70th minute. It was then that Yoane Wissa set up Keane Lewis-Potter on the edge of the area, and the latter's shot struck the post, marking Brentford's closest attempt to equalize.

Aston Villa move up to 7th with a win over Brentford 🦁#BREAVL pic.twitter.com/gHTeGMqZO0

— Premier League (@premierleague) March 8, 2025

As the match drew to a close, Brentford continued to push for an equalizer. Kevin Schade forced a strong save from Robin Olsen, and a subsequent scramble in the Villa box ended with Mikkel Damsgaard firing narrowly wide. Despite Brentford's late pressure, Aston Villa managed to hold on and secure a 1-0 victory.

The win marked only Aston Villa's second Premier League victory in their last eight matches, while Brentford's defeat extended their winless streak in the competition to seven matches. Thomas Frank's side will be looking to bounce back from this disappointing result, while Villa will aim to build on this hard-fought win.