Sports
Villa Falter In Title Race After Home Loss
Ten-man Brentford claimed a brilliant win at Aston Villa yesterday to dent the hosts’ Premier League title ambitions.
Dango Ouattara’s fine strike stunned Villa minutes after Kevin Schade was sent off for pushing his studs into Matty Cash’s midriff.
The returning Tammy Abraham had a goal disallowed as Villa lost successive home league games for the first time in two years.
They remain third in the table, seven points behind leaders Arsenal, while Keith Andrews’ Brentford sit seventh, four points adrift of the top five.
Striker Schade’s dismissal looked to have given Villa control, only for Ouattara to find the top corner.
Abraham thought he levelled three minutes into the second half after Caoimhin Kelleher parried Jadon Sancho’s strike, only for the goal to be ruled out – after a four-minute video assistant referee (VAR) review – as the ball went out before Villa attacked.
But there were no late heroics as Brentford defended valiantly to hold on for a deserved and impressive victory.