Ollie Watkins' late equalizer saves Aston Villa's blushes against Brentford | first division

Yeah Aston Villa If they fail to qualify for the Champions League, Unai Emery will most likely point to this draw as the day that derailed his best-laid plans. His subsequent behavior suggested that this was a marker that would endure. Villa established a 2-0 lead seconds after the restart, but three goals in nine second-half minutes gave Brentford a surprising lead.

Villa imploded but Ollie Watkins, who headed the first goal of a crazy match, headed in the second to avoid a heavy defeat. However, make no mistake: this was a shocking result. Villa could hardly give Tottenham, three points behind but with two games less, a greater boost because fourth place is still up for grabs. Villa could regret leaving their hopes of qualifying for Europe's top competition in the hands of UEFA's coefficient.

For Villa, it was a win-win afternoon. Until Watkins headed a post as half-time loomed, it proved to be a frustrating contest, with premium chances and a low block to navigate. They were a little pedestrian, a little too predictable. Thomas Frank set his team up to stifle and hit Villa on the counter, with Bryan Mbeumo preferred to Ivan Toney in attack. The English striker He was a substitute and was not fully fit after a hip problem. “He's a beast, he can play anything, but sometimes I have to be the sensible guy,” Frank said.

Toney, who came on with nine minutes remaining, was furious at his team's futile attempt to maintain a precious lead and spoke to teammate Nathan Collins after the final whistle. Brentford They are winless in nine league games, their worst run since 2007, when they were relegated to League Two. While the fact they are now three games unbeaten might give some perspective to Brentford's most terrified fans, those numbers are unlikely to ease Toney's emotions, even if Frank downplayed the incident. “I know they are two very competitive people who want to win a game,” said the Brentford head coach. “We have a very good culture. It’s okay to have a little friction.”

Brentford started promisingly but it was easy to conclude the game was over when Morgan Rogers doubled Villa's lead 37 seconds into the second half. Emery was still on course to take his place on the home bench when Rogers, a January signing from Middlesbrough, scored his first goal for the club after turning inside Kristoffer Ajer, giving Mark Flekken a look and quickly powering in a shot. inside the goalkeeper's near post. .

Brentford, however, did not lie down. Center back Mathias Jørgensen was the unlikely scorer of the visitors' first goal, converting from close range in comical fashion. He hit a Mikkel Damsgaard cross with his right foot, but he scored with his left foot, into the shin. It is not surprising that Jørgensen, in his hundredth first division appearance, he left the scene smiling. Two minutes later, Mbeumo walked away to celebrate after volleying home the equaliser. He broke away from his marker, Pau Torres, and sent a nice, cushioned shot past a hapless Emiliano Martínez. Suddenly, everything was going in Brentford's favor.

Then the impressive Sergio Reguilón, on loan from Tottenham, effortlessly controlled a diagonal pass from Mathias Jensen down the left flank and sent a perfect ball into the six-yard box for Yoane Wissa to sweep away. Villa's defense was once again conspicuous by his absence. . Emery swore, slouched in his seat, but Watkins, signed from Brentford four years ago, leapt high above Flekken and Jørgensen to meet Leon Bailey's deflected cross and ensure Villa did not leave a game empty-handed. maddening, if not harmful.

However, rarely has a point felt so inadequate. Another blow came in injury time, Douglas Luiz's yellow card ruling him out of Villa's next two league games, against Arsenal and Bournemouth. Watkins' verdict was damning: “It's one point but it should have been three,” he said. “These are the games we need to win; That's what the best teams do. They finish him off, they kill him.

“We lacked that big team mentality that kills games, which is really disappointing. Maybe we still don't have that maturity or that game intelligence.”