Aston Villa suffered a 2-1 defeat to Brentford on Sunday in a hugely frustrating loss given Steven Gerrard’s men controlled much of the game.
Things started well in the first half as after enjoying good possession and nullifying Brentford’s threat, Emiliano Buendia did brilliantly to set Danny Ings through to open the scoring.
READ MORE: Three key factors in Villa improvement under Gerrard as identity starts to show
FT: Brentford 2-1 Villa
– Tough one to take given quality we showed at times & controlled it for large periods
– Have to be more ruthless/clinical when on top to put it away
– Frustrating we haven't held out for at least a draw
– Positives again but poor result#avfc #UTV— Talk Villa (@thetalkvilla) January 2, 2022
However, after conceding just before half-time, Villa lost their way after the break as the game fell a bit of flat, and having failed to be ruthless or clinical enough in the final third, Brentford bagged their winner in the latter stages to secure all three points and send Villa home with nothing to show for their efforts.
Aston Villa player ratings vs Brentford:
Emiliano Martinez, 7 – Well beaten by a fantastic strike from Wissa for the first, before he produced a world-class save to deny Onyeka. Did well to initially deny Roerslev, but didn’t get the help needed from his defenders to prevent the follow up. Continues to produce key saves in big moments, but we need to make them count at the other end.
Matty Cash, 6 – Wasn’t as influential going forward as he can be, but he put in a decent shift defensively and pushed up the pitch whenever possible to give us width.
Ezri Konsa, 7 – Looked in complete control whenever called into action. Whether it was his positioning, composure, reading of the play or physicality, he put in another top performance to give us solidity on that side of the defence.
Kortney Hause, 4 – Poor on his return to the starting line-up as he looked off the pace and lacking sharpness. Not tight enough for the first goal and the second came down his side of the pitch again as along with Targett, they couldn’t keep a lid on Brentford’s threat.
Matt Targett, 4.5 – Not good enough in either phase of the game from the left-back. Caught out in the lead up to both goals and didn’t show enough quality in the final third when getting forward into decent positions.
John McGinn, 6 – Will miss his presence against Man Utd next time out after he picked up a fifth booking of the season. Tireless and physical as ever, as he covered plenty of ground and got stuck into the encounter. Perhaps questions need to be asked and tweaks made to allow him to spend less time doing the dirty work and allowing him to be more influential in attack.
Douglas Luiz, 6 – Tidy in possession and kept things ticking over to give us a sense of control over the game when on top. The issue comes when we’re under pressure and not bossing the midfield, as we lack that solidity and protection in front of the backline.
Jacob Ramsey, 6 – Disappointing to see him be the one to come off late on, after he put in a tireless shift off the ball with his pressing and was positive and progressive with his runs and possession to try and get us an opening in the final third.
Bertrand Traore, 5 – Sense of excitement to have him back as he can produce quality in a flash. However, couldn’t get going in this one as he struggled to create and cause Brentford problems.
Emiliano Buendia, 7 – A much-improved performance from the Argentine, as he looked confident and positive with most things he did. HIs highlight was the quality in the build-up to our goal as he showed great skill before sliding in a perfect through-ball for Ings to finish off. A big step in the right direction for him and that’s the level of play we need to see from him on a regular basis moving forward.
Danny Ings, 6 – Wasn’t a major threat across the game as a whole as although he worked hard and showed good leadership up top, didn’t get the service consistently. Scored with a brilliant finish to give us the lead, and had his moments after that but couldn’t quite find the back of the net.
Substitutes:
Morgan Sanson, 5 – The game perhaps needed him a bit earlier, but ultimately he did struggle to get up to the pace of the clash and didn’t have the desired impact that Gerrard would have wanted.
Trezeguet, 4 – Looked lively but lacked the quality needed to go with it. Claimed a penalty late on but went down far too easily and dramatically and was waved away.