Dango Ouattara struck the decisive blow as Brentford shrugged off a first-half red card to secure a gritty 1-0 Premier League victory away at Aston Villa.
The Bees appeared to be facing an uphill task when Kevin Schade was sent off in the 42nd minute for violent conduct after lashing out at Matty Cash.
But despite being reduced to 10 men, Thomas Frank’s side delivered a stunning response just before the interval.
One minute into first-half stoppage time, Ouattara capitalised on a fortunate rebound after his initial cross towards Igor Thiago was blocked by Pau Torres, rifling an unstoppable effort into the far top corner to silence Villa Park.
Villa thought they had drawn level shortly after the restart through Tammy Abraham, who was making his first appearance for the club since the 2019 Championship play-off final following his permanent return from Besiktas.
Abraham reacted quickest after Caoimhin Kelleher spilled Jadon Sancho’s shot, but a VAR review ruled out the goal after Leon Bailey was judged to have let the ball run out of play earlier in the same attacking phase.
That decision proved pivotal as Villa poured forward in search of an equaliser, dominating possession but failing to find a way through Brentford’s resolute defence.
Bailey and Torres both squandered late chances during an extended stoppage-time spell, summing up Villa’s frustration.
Despite trailing league leaders Arsenal by seven points, Villa were left to rue missed opportunities. They finished with 27 shots and an expected goals (xG) tally of 1.98, yet only five efforts tested the goalkeeper.
Brentford, by contrast, managed just six shots and 0.53 xG, with Ouattara’s winner carrying an xG value of only 0.1. However, their disciplined second-half display proved decisive.
The result lifts Brentford to seventh place, five points behind fourth-placed Manchester United, while Ouattara maintained his remarkable record of never losing a Premier League match in which he has scored, now 11 games across spells with Bournemouth and Brentford.
It was also a rare setback for Villa, who lost a Premier League match despite their opponents receiving a first-half red card for the first time since April 2021.
Although they completed 355 passes after the break, their highest in a single half since Opta records began in 2003-04 their dominance ultimately counted for little.
