Villa are off the pace in race to beat the clock!

VILLA disappointed in the capital on Saturday afternoon, suffering their first defeat of the new Premier League season.

- By JOHN TOWNLEY

Dango Ouattara opened the scoring in the 12th minute for Brentford, latching onto Igor Thiago’s flick-on and finishing on the rebound after Emi Martinez had saved his initial effort.

Villa's best chance came early in the second half at the Gtech Community Stadium when Morgan Rogers found space in the box, but Michael Kayode made an excellent block to prevent his effort from troubling Caoimhin Kelleher. Here are the talking points.

What's needed in the final days of the window

Villa registered 17 shots against the Bees - their most in a Premier League game without scoring since October 2022 against Chelsea (18). However, only two were on target, highlighting one of the key issues - a lack of cutting edge.

Ollie Watkins, who netted five times in preseason, and Rogers, also sharp in the summer, have not made a significant impact in the opening two matches of the campaign. Watkins has lacked service, while Rogers has looked off the pace given the high standards he set last season.

Villa need both firing, especially considering they were the only two players in the squad to record more than ten goal involvements in the league last term.