Aston Villa secured a 2-1 victory over Burnley in the Premier League, marking their fourth consecutive win across all competitions. Donyell Malen was the star, scoring twice to earn his first goals of
the season. His efforts helped propel Unai Emery's team to 13th place in the early standings.
Villa started strong, forcing an early save from Burnley's Martin Dubravka after Ezri Konsa's header. Malen then capitalised on a precise pass from Boubacar Kamara, holding off Maxime Esteve to score in the 25th minute. Burnley nearly equalised before halftime, but Emiliano Martinez made a crucial save against Josh Cullen's shot.
In the second half, Villa maintained pressure with Morgan Rogers coming close to scoring, only to be denied by Dubravka. However, Malen doubled Villa's lead in the 63rd minute with a powerful strike assisted by Rogers. Despite Lesley Ugochukwu pulling one back for Burnley with a header from a corner, Villa held firm for another important win.
This victory places Villa just one point shy of the Premier League's top half. Meanwhile, Burnley's struggles continue as they remain winless in five league matches, sitting at 18th place.
Another 3 points pic.twitter.com/IJtLVhgPJU Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) October 5, 2025
This match marked Unai Emery’s 150th game as Aston Villa manager since his appointment in October 2022. The team celebrated this milestone with their fourth straight win across all competitions. After failing to win any of their first six games this season (D4 L2), they now share the longest active winning streak in all competitions among Premier League teams alongside Arsenal.
Malen’s brace was his first since February 2024 when he scored twice for Borussia Dortmund against Freiburg. In his 21st Premier League appearance and only his fourth start for Villa, he has now scored three goals in those starts, including one against Nottingham Forest last April.
Burnley's Struggles Persist
Burnley has managed just two wins out of their last 40 Premier League matches when excluding games against newly promoted teams (D9 L29). In contrast, they have won four out of five encounters against promoted sides during this period (D1).
