Three goals in the opening 14 minutes set Brentford on their way to a 4-0 Sunday afternoon defeat to Aston Villa in the Premier League.

Leon Bailey opened the scoring inside 120 seconds following a short corner routine, before Danny Ings’ double all but wrapped the game up before the quarter-hour mark. 

His first came following good work down the left between Ashley Young and Bailey while his second came from the spot following a Kristoffer Ajer tug on Tyrone Mings inside the box. 

It could have been worse for the Bees but for a string of fine David Raya saves. However, there was nothing he could do as Ollie Watkins added a fourth shortly before the hour mark.

The teams

Thomas Frank made one change from Wednesday’s draw at home to Chelsea: Kristoffer Ajer replacing Ben Mee in defence with Zanka shuffling across into the heart of the back three. 

Caretaker manager Aaron Danks made three changes to Villa’s line-up.

Matthew Cash came in at right-back, Leander Dendocker made his first start since August alongside Douglas Luiz in midfield with Emiliano Buendía returning in the middle of a three behind lone striker Danny Ings. 

Brentford: Raya; Roerslev (Canós 46), Ajer, Zanka (Damsgaard 62), Pinnock, Henry; Janelt, Onyeka (Dasilva 46), Jensen (Baptiste 78); Mbuemo (Wissa 62), Toney

Subs not used: Cox, Ghoddos, Mee, Crama

Aston Villa: Martínez; Cash (Chambers 81), Konsa, Mings, Young; Dendocker (McGinn 63), Luiz; Bailey (Ramsey 71), Buendía (Coutinho 71), Watkins (Archer 81); Ings

Subs not used: Olsen, Sanson, Nakamba, Bednarek

Attendance: 41,693

First half

Lifted by the midweek removal of Steven Gerrard as head coach, Villa Park was a cauldron of noise ahead of the game and the home side responded with a blistering start. 

Ethan Pinnock blocked a Buendía shot from the edge of the box inside the first minute, but the home fans didn’t have to wait long for an opener.

Luiz, available after his red card against Fulham on Thursday was rescinded, took a short corner and then found an unmarked Bailey who swept home from 15 yards. VAR checked for an offside against Mings but decided he wasn’t interfering with play and the goal stood.  

The goalscorer turned provider on seven minutes as Ings got his first of the afternoon. Ashley Young fed Bailey down the left flank and he squared it for Ings to smash home from the edge of the six-yard box.

Brentford tried to respond, but in doing so conceded a third. Frank Onyeka’s header from a corner was blocked and the loose ball sent goalwards by Zanka. Emi Martínez gathered and dispatched it downfield for Watkins to chase. He won the foot race with Pinnock and brought a smart save out of Raya with a fierce angled drive. 

When the corner came in, Ajer grabbed a handful of Mings’ shirt at the back post and Darren England pointed straight to the spot. Ings stepped up and fired it straight down the middle past Raya. 

Villa Park could scarcely believe what it was seeing and the home side showed no signs of letting up. Buendía fired a shot into the side netting after a neat give-and-go with Ings, Raya fielded a long-range Young effort, and Rico Henry made an important block to deny Cash at the back post.

The best chances Brentford could muster in response were a Pinnock volley, blocked in front of goal inadvertently by Onyeka, and a Bryan Mbeumo shot, from Ivan Toney’s lovely reverse pass, which Martínez sprinted off his line to smother at close range.

In between those rare, bright moments, Villa continued to create chances. Luiz thundered a shot from 30 yards narrowly wide of Raya’s right-hand post and Buendía curled an effort narrowly over the bar before a remarkable triple save from Raya ensured the damage would only be three at half-time. 

First, he tipped Luiz’s in-swinging corner on to the woodwork. He then beat away Watkins’ close-range shot before finally going full length to his right to turn Cash’s low drive around the post. 

Second half

Frank made a double change at the break, bringing on Sergi Canós and Josh Dasilva, with the latter having Brentford’s first sight on goal of the half.

A nice move from the back found Dasilva in space on the right edge but his opening was quickly closed down and the shot blocked.

Any hopes Brentford had of mounting a remarkable comeback were quashed just before the hour mark. Again, Raya did everything he could, twice denying Watkins at point-blank range but there was nothing he could do as the ball landed back at the former Brentford man’s feet for a third time – Watkins steadying himself and finding the back of the net from eight yards. 

The Bees should have instantly pulled one back, but Mbeumo could only turn into the side netting from close range after Martínez had got down smartly to parry Jensen’s low drive. 

Wissa and Mikkel Damsgaard were introduced as the Bees went for broke late on. The DR Congo international curled a shot into Martínez’s arms from just outside the D and Dasilva lashed a wild volley wide but the final half an hour was played with Villa very much keeping Brentford at arm’s length. 

While the Bees saw plenty of the ball, Villa’s well-organised backline made sure that possession was in areas that wouldn’t threaten the home side’s clean sheet. 

As the minutes ticked down, Wissa had one final attempt - a header that drifted off target - but there would be no late consolation for the Bees players and fans to take with them back down the M40.  

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