Brentford unbeaten start survives Aston Villa comeback

Brentford left Aston Villa with a point after a 2-2 draw that kept their unbeaten start intact and left Keith Andrews' side on six league games without defeat. Kristoffer Ajer scored the late equaliser, but the more telling part for Brentford was the way they answered Villa twice in a frantic game at Villa Park.

Yehor Yarmolyuk put Brentford ahead in the 10th minute after Tyrone Mings lost possession in a dangerous area. Nicolas Jackson hit back 88 seconds later, and the pattern repeated after John McGinn put Villa ahead in the 77th minute before Ajer levelled again in the 79th.

Brentford's response under pressure

Brentford have now started the league with six matches without defeat, and that run is starting to look built on more than just avoiding trouble. They have taken 9 points from five league matches before this draw, and their place in fourth tells you how well the opening weeks have gone.

Ajer's finish was also his first Premier League goal of the season, which is a decent reflection of the evening. Brentford did not need a dominant performance to leave with something, they needed calm in the key moments, and they found it again after Villa's second lead.

Villa's home wait goes on

For Aston Villa, the draw added another frustrating home result under Unai Emery. The sources around the game agree on the central point, their wait for a home league win continues, even if there was some disagreement about whether they had already registered their first point in front of their own fans.

Villa have just one win from their first six Premier League matches, so McGinn's goal should have mattered more than it did. Instead, Jackson and Ajer turned the game back the other way twice, and Brentford left with the result that best fits their start to the season.

The return fixture is still a long way off, but Brentford go into their next league match unbeaten after six, with Ajer already on the scoresheet and the table showing them fourth.