Brentford claimed a disciplined 1-0 victory at Aston Villa, surviving a first-half red card and heavy late pressure to climb to seventh in the Premier League, while Villa missed the chance to close the gap on leaders Arsenal and now sit seven points behind the top.
Dango Ouattara delivered the decisive moment for Brentford in first-half stoppage time, smashing a loose ball into the far top corner after Pau Torres blocked Ouattara’s attempted cross towards Igor Thiago, with the ball looping back into the winger’s path inside the Aston Villa penalty area.
The match swung sharply on 42 minutes when Kevin Schade was dismissed for violent conduct, with the Brentford forward sent off after a petulant kick at Matty Cash, leaving Brentford to defend the lead
with 10 players for almost an entire half against a side aiming for the Premier League title.
Tammy Abraham appeared to haul Aston Villa level four minutes after half-time, reacting quickest when Caoimhin Kelleher pushed out Jadon Sancho’s strike and steering the rebound into the net, but the celebrations ended following a VAR review that checked the full attacking sequence.
Replays showed Leon Bailey had failed to keep the ball in play near Aston Villa’s own corner flag earlier in the move, yet officials ruled it formed part of the same attacking possession phase, so Abraham’s effort was eventually disallowed, leaving Villa to chase the game again from a goal down.
Aston Villa then camped in Brentford’s half for long spells, pushing full-backs high and committing extra players forward, yet genuine clear chances remained scarce, with Leon Bailey dragging a promising opening wide and Pau Torres also missing during a frantic period that included 10 minutes of added time.
Aston Villa vs Brentford Premier League numbers and data debrief
Ouattara’s strike continued a personal trend, as the winger is still unbeaten in all 11 Premier League fixtures in which Ouattara has scored for either Bournemouth or Brentford, with that run now standing at nine wins and two draws across those appearances.
The match also ended a long-standing Aston Villa record, as this was the first Premier League defeat for Villa in a game where the opposition received a first-half red card since April 2021, when Manchester City beat Villa 2-1 after John Stones was sent off at Villa Park.
Brentford relied heavily on defensive organisation after the interval, conceding territory but blocking space around the box, while Aston Villa attempted to build through patient possession and switches of play, seeking to stretch Brentford’s back line without finding a consistent route through on goal.
Opta data underlined Villa’s dominance of the ball, with Aston Villa completing 355 passes in the second half, the club’s highest total for a single half of Premier League football since records began in the 2003-04 season, yet Brentford restricted the hosts to few clean sights of Kelleher’s goal.
Aston Villa finished with 27 shots and an expected goals value of 1.98 but hit the target only five times, while Brentford managed just six efforts worth 0.53 expected goals, with Ouattara’s match-winning attempt carrying an xG of only 0.1, reflecting the tight angle and difficulty of the strike.
The result means Brentford move to within five points of fourth-placed Manchester United despite playing a full half with 10 players, whereas Aston Villa’s title push suffers a setback, as the team could not turn control of possession and volume of attempts into points against disciplined opposition.
