Matt Maher analysis: A win that shows Aston Villa may remain in the Premier League title race
Statement wins over Manchester City and Arsenal might have launched Villa into the Premier League title race but it is afternoons like these which have you believing they might stay there.
Scrappy, chaotic and maybe a wee bit fortunate, yesterday’s 2-1 victory at Brentford was all of those things and more and yet when the final whistle sounded it was still Emi Martinez who walked towards his supporters, arms aloft, after a result which lifted his team to within a point of the Premier League summit.
Beat bottom-placed Sheffield United on Friday and Villa will be top for the first time in more than a decade, at the latest stage of the season for a quarter of a century. Already, Emery’s men have made another bit of club history. No Villa team has won more top-flight matches in a calendar year than the 25 they have now managed.
Some of those supporters in the away section Martinez turned to face at the finish may have been pondering his antics during a chaotic finish, which had seen Boubacar Kamara sent off for lashing out during a melee, the goalkeeper had started by trying to drag Brentford striker and fellow wind-up-merchant Neal Maupay off the floor. More on that shortly.
The bottom line, despite the late carnage, was a third successive away match in which Villa have fought back to take points after going behind, this time missing several key men who have propelled their ascent up the table.
There is still plenty for Emery to work on when it comes to Villa’s away performances. They often pale in comparison to those seen at home and for long periods here, they laboured against a Brentford team who, though boasting a record of just four defeats in their last 27 league matches, were seriously depleted. Without the reckless lunge of Ben Mee toward Leon Bailey with 19 minutes to go, which resulted in the home defender being dismissed following a VAR review, it is doubtful Villa would have won the day.
