Aston Villa failed to record back-to-back home wins as they were held to a 1-1 draw with Brentford.
Emi Buendia opened his Villa account with a stunning finish to draw Villa level following Ivan Toney’s first Premier League goal.
Here’s how the fans rated our boys in claret and blue. Joining me today is Joey Millington, Justin Hawthorne, Gary Plaza and Alex.
STARTING LINE-UP
Formation 4-2-3-1
Emi Martinez – 7
Largely a spectator today most of the play was in front of him. Toney left wide open to finish their only effort on target.
As always commanded his area well and was superb with the quick distribution. (Gary)
Matty Cash – 7
Despite the infancy of Bryan Mbuemo and Rico Henry’s Premier League careers to date, the pair will be sure to cause many a right-back no end of bother this season. On the whole, Cash got the better of this battle down his flank, making an impressive four tackles and linking up both defensively and offensively with Buendia, a partnership that will surely blossom in the coming months.
Cash’s overlapping run created the pocket of space for Villa’s number 10 to find the net. A sloppy second-half yellow did not take away from a solid if not spectacular performance. (Joey)
Ezri Konsa – 8
It was superb to see Ezri make his bow as captain of our club, albeit under unfortunate circumstances with Mings having a cracked rib and our vice-captain Mcginn contracting covid.
He performed to his usual high standard, showed great composure and read the game so well. Brentford had a tactic of playing long balls up to Toney, who was a handful but I thought Konsa dealt with him well. He also made a couple of terrific blocks. Towards the end of the game, he had to come off with what looked like a knee injury, let’s just hope the international break has come at the right time for him to recuperate and he’ll be back for Chelsea! (Alex)
Axel Tuanzebe – 7
Good performance on his return!
Being a right-footed player in a left-sided position can bring problems but he played with confidence and took no risks, completed a steady game.
Big boots to fill covering Mings but he did it well. (Gary)
Matt Targett – 7
Returned to the starting 11 and looked much better today, stuck to his job well and will be better for the 90 mins. (Justin)
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Douglas Luiz – 7.5
The rumours of us wanting to sell Dougie, if true, are quite perplexing. He was formidable in this game and oozes class on the ball. There were numerous occasions when he had the ball either in our penalty area or the edge of it under pressure and showed so much composure, strength and vision to distribute the ball to a fellow teammate.
He played the ball simply but to great effect and they were progressive, which is paramount. A top performance from a technically gifted player! (Alex)
Carney Chukwuemeka – 6.5
After an impressive display against Barrow on Tuesday evening, Carney Chukwuemeka put on an energetic and assured performance in front of a brimming Villa Park in his first league start for the club.
His movement was intelligent and his disposition courageous as he drove Villa forward when on the ball. Subbed for Nakamba in a tactical tweak but the teenager looks ready-made for this level and his next start will not be far away. (Joey)
Ashley Young – 7
A real jack of all trades now is Ashley and has already shown in the first three games what a great pick up on a free he will be, bought experience and nous to the team today. (Justin)
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Emi Buendia – 8
The first of many for @EM10Buendia. 👌 pic.twitter.com/TtT1rUrxoP
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) August 28, 2021
The song which Villa have inherited from Norwich describes the diminutive Argentinian playmaker as ‘football heaven’ and fans were shown just why that is the case in the 13th minute of Saturday’s fixture. Buendia whipped a classy finish past the otherwise stubborn goalkeeper David Raya to cancel Brentford’s early goal out.
The work rate of Villa’s most expensive acquisition also caught the eye, as Buendia supported Ings in pressing high up the pitch, and tracked back regularly to nullify the threat of Rico Henry. (Joey)
Anwar El Ghazi – 7
I wrote last week about El Ghazi not being quite good enough for this level but against Brentford he was terrific! His first touch and close control was a mirror opposite to what was seen against Newcastle. He was integral to our equaliser and played a great one-two with Ings, who was then afforded the license to spray the ball to Buendia to work his magic.
El Ghazi put in a couple of great crosses too as well as nearly putting Ings through on goal. With a bit more luck one of them would have come off and capped his solid performance. (Alex)
Danny Ings – 7.5
Superb for me.
Lead the line really well with his closing down. Much more Ollie type play with running the channels which lead to him assisting Buendia’s goal.
Be interesting to see both him and Ollie together, this international break has arrived at the right time for us. (Gary)
Substitutions:
Marvelous Nakamba (on for Chukwuemeka, 63)
Ollie Watkins (on for Young, 79th minute)
Kortney Hause (on for Konsa, 89th minute), N/A
Subs not used: Steer, Guilbert, Hourihane, Philogene-Bidace, Archer, A. Ramsey.
Goals:
AstonVilla :
Buendia (13)
Brentford:
Toney (7)
Opposition:
Brentford : Raya; Janelt, Ajer, Jansson, Pinnock, Henry; Norgaard, Canos, Ghoddos; Mbuemo, Toney.
Subs : Fernandez, Thompson, Jensen, Forss, Wissa, Dervisoglu, Baptiste, Bidstrup, Stevens.
PLAYER REACTION
Solid point today! Great feeling to wear the captains armband. Such an honour! Thank you to the fans as well for all the messages! Unbelievable support! #UTV pic.twitter.com/CSBMSPZfqO
— Ezri Konsa (@EzriKonsa) August 28, 2021
https://twitter.com/chukwuemekaa10/status/1431704951714197507?s=21
➕1️⃣ Draw against tough side. Will be back stronger after international break. One more time, amazing atmosphere at Villa Park 🙌🏼 Come on VILLA! 🟣 @AVFCOfficial pic.twitter.com/W6Oy98QMSV
— Emiliano Buendia (@EM10Buendia) August 28, 2021
THE BOSS
Dean Smith's take on #AVLBRE…🗣️ pic.twitter.com/Y33FXRQyCl
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) August 28, 2021
HIGHLIGHTS
Highlights from #AVLBRE in B6… pic.twitter.com/yrHGAKHtpp
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) August 28, 2021
TABLE
UP NEXT
CHELSEA (A) 11th September 2021
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