Aston Villa continued on their upward trajectory by posting a fourth successive win in the form of a 2-1 victory over Burnley, securing a third successive league win in the fixture for the first time since 1900 in the process.
High on three successive victories, it was little surprise to see Villa start on the front foot against a struggling Burnley.
Although their early pressure yielded little by way of open-play chances, two set-pieces led to two early opportunities, but while Donyell Malen couldn’t quite direct his effort on target, Ezri Konsa’s goalbound header was beaten away by Martin Dubravka.
It felt like a matter of time before Villa finally found a breakthrough, and that came midway through the first half.
There was an element of simplicity to it, too, as one ball from Boubacar Kamara split the entire Clarets defence and afforded Malen the relatively simple chance to slot past the onrushing Dubravka.
Burnley took 35 minutes to get close enough to the Villa goal to test Emiliano Martinez, but when they did, the Argentine needed to be at his best to tip Josh Cullen’s half-volley around the post, before Jaidon Anthony’s cross-shot from the resulting corner bounced back off the crossbar.
The unusual issue for Scott Parker’s men was that they simply couldn’t tighten up at the back, and another simple pass split their defence on the stroke of half-time and freed Malen again, but this time a last-ditch Maxime Esteve block denied what would’ve been a certain second goal for the hosts.
The second half followed a much similar pattern to the first, with Villa dominating for the most part.
Their quest to find a crucial second goal was almost complete within 10 minutes of the restart, when one ball again caused chaos in the Burnley defence and the Clarets needed to be bailed out by the legs of Dubravka as he denied Morgan Rogers from point-blank range.
Unai Emery’s men didn’t have to wait too much longer to find that elusive second goal, though. The influential Rogers and Malen were again involved, with the former finding the latter, who made no mistake in arrowing an effort into the far corner to double his personal tally.
Villa were unwilling to relent and almost added a third within a minute of the restart when Matty Cash forced another stunning save out of Dubravka.
Completely out of the blue, Burnley found a way back into the game from a set-piece when Quilindschy Hartman’s corner found the unmarked Lesley Ugochukwu, whose header squirmed beneath Martinez.
That gave Parker’s men a platform to build upon in the closing stages, but they were unable to translate that momentum into a second goal and saw their winless league run stretch to five games.
Villa seem to have finally turned a corner now with four wins in a row, and the international break will feel a little inopportunely timed to them.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Donyell Malen (Aston Villa)
