With the title race practically made and the battle of relegation increasingly looking like a formality, the race for Europe is where the stories are forming for the last stages of this Premier League campaign.
For Aston Villa, playing European soccer caused its price this season with Unai Emery’s team not winning any of the previous seven games that took place after a Champions League game.
Here in Brentford, they ended this terrible statistic with an impressive victory that led them to the 7th and just two points behind Manchester City in fourth.
Emery’s side had to turn around without Emi Martinez, who had a back injury, while the Marco Asensio man was also injured and also did not make the trip to the capital.
But it was a familiar face in Ollie Watkins, who provided the decisive moment with his 13th goal of the season at the Premier League where he called home.
Emery made two changes in Villa’s midweek victory in Brugg, with Robin Olsen replacing Martinez with his first start of the Premier League season, while Jacob Ramsey was preferred by Marcus Rashford.
There was a lack of quality in the final third, when both teams entered the break without a goal
Ollie Watkins scored four minutes after the restart on his return to the West London Club
Marcus Rashford appeared for the second half to put another lively special participation in a village shirt
For Brentford, Frank made exactly the only change of draw at Everton ten days ago with Captain Christian Norgaard recovering from concussion and directly in the eleven beginners.
Brentford started on the front, with Olsen, perhaps fortunate to not being penalized for taking an Axel Disasi backpass, but Villa grew up in the game and had the best chance in half, right after the one -hour room.
The wonderful delivery of his Youlema Tielemans Tielemans chose an unmarked Tyrone Mings, who made the perfect race but hit the ball straight into Mark Flecken.
Given that this land saw more goals in the Premier League than any other terrain this season, it was even more surprising that this confrontation was without goals in the break.
Emery chose to send Matty Cash on the right wing instead of Leon Bailey at break in an attempt to limit the impact of Brentford’s Keane Lewis-Potter and four minutes in the second half, the impasse was broken from a lethal village counter.
Ramsey found Watkins on the left flank, which silenced the boos with a right foot attack that took a slight deflection by Nathan Collins and defeated Fleken.
For Watkins, it was a sixth goal in six games against bees since leaving West of London to Birmingham in 2020.
A minute later, he became a provider by riding Morgan Rogers, who shot Floken, but Villa’s celebrations were interrupted as VAR showed that Watkins was prevented in construction.
Morgan Rogers thought he scored Villa’s second, but saw his goal discarded by VAR to prevent
Villa was able to postpone Brentford’s pressure to secure a vital victory in the race for Europe
Unai Emery’s side is now just one point from Manchester City, which sits fourth
This decision seemed to light a spark in Brentford, which increased the bet and knocked on the door of the village.
Axel Desasi roared with pleasure by putting a vital block before Lewis-Potter’s effort came to office, while Frank was furious when Cash and Disasi accidentally collided with Kevin Schade in the area, but with the ball not on the playing, there was no penalty for Brentford.
The home team had another appeal waved when Disasi contacted Schade in the box, but VAR considered it was minimal and not enough to overthrow Jarred Gillett’s Onfield’s decision.
In recent stages, Olsen saved Schade before goalkeeper Villa crossed the ball in the box and after a flood of activities, Norgaard fired well.
With Brenford chasing a level, Villa should have finished the game at the counter when Rogers found Watkins, who had all the time in the world, but with Tamelas he cried the ball in front of Fleken.
But that was not expensive, as Villa has maintained the third consecutive victory and a crucial clean sheet that will undoubtedly increase its confidence before the return leg against Club Brugg on Wednesday, where a place in the Champions League in the last eight waiting.
For Brentford, having won seven of his first eight home games at Premier League this season, bees now have no victories in the last seven at home. Hardly the kind of form if you want to be in European places in May.
