In his second debut for Aston Villa, Tammy Abraham’s equalizing goal was disallowed by VAR, giving Brentford a narrow 1-0 victory with 10 men, but it caused controversy.
The Bees were reduced to 10 points after a moment of madness when Kevin Shade kicked out Matty Cash, but Dango Ouattara’s first goal four minutes later was a perfect reaction and a frantic first half ended.
Tammy Abraham, making his second starting debut for Villa alongside Douglas Luiz, thought he had marked his return to the club with a quick equalizer after the restart, but the ball went out of play during the build-up 19 seconds before it went in, leading to a lengthy VAR delay and a controversial cancellation.
“I don’t think it’s very fair, but I have to accept it,” manager Unai Emery told Sky Sports when asked about the decision after the match. In response, Brentford manager Keith Andrews added: “If the ball was out, the ball was out. That was my view.”
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Aston Villa’s Tammy Abraham’s goal against Brentford in the Premier League was disallowed after a VAR check ruled the ball went out of play during an attack.
Having regained the lead and the numbers now in Villa’s favor, Brentford were persistent throughout the second half and frustrated, with Caoich Kelleher only introduced to deny Lewis, Cash and Morgan Rodgers’ half-chances, which were kept in check by a compact defensive performance.
Brentford defeated Unai Emery’s team 1-0 in August, knocking them out of the Carabao Cup, but their third win over Villa this season moved them into seventh place, four points behind fifth-placed Chelsea.
Meanwhile, Villa missed the chance to close in on a four-point difference with leaders Arsenal in the title race.
Four minutes of excitement that brought us victory!
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Brentford were reduced to 10 men after Kevin Shade was sent off for giving away a challenge to Matty Cash.
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Ouattara sacked Brentford with 10 men ahead of their Premier League game against Aston Villa.
Emery: Villa tried everything against ‘resilient’ Brentford
Aston Villa manager Unai Emery told Sky Sports.
“They put up a great fight, we tried everything but they have a habit of defending with their experience in the Premier League.
“When they needed to play defensively, they performed great. They were resilient and we tried everything.
“We scored one goal, but there was VAR. We have to accept that and generally analyze how we are now.
“We lost our last two games at home to Everton and Brentford. We may be disappointed, but let’s keep moving forward.”
ANDREWS: We had to dig deep.
Brentford manager Keith Andrews told Sky Sports:
“We knew we had to defend for most of the game. We got the goal, but the players were great. We were always a threat.
“We wanted to start the second half in a position to attack, but the players needed to dig deep. This is a result we deserved. We felt the clean sheet was definitely worth the effort.”
Regarding Villa’s canceled goal, he said: “If the ball was out, the ball was out. That was my view.”
