Analysis: Aston Villa alive in Champions League race after defence steps up in confidence-boosting win
Just when you are preparing to write Villa off in the race for the Champions League, they give you reason to think again.
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Anything other than a win at Brentford on Saturday evening would probably have meant their best chance to be playing in Europe’s elite club competition next season would be to win it this season.
Instead, the 1-0 victory courtesy of Ollie Watkins’ customary goal against his former club, means they team remain firmly in the mix. Rivals may be better placed but as the season enters its final two months, Unai Emery’s men cannot yet be counted out.
This was the kind of evening which should breed confidence, simply for the fact Villa have struggled so often to win in these circumstances.
Only once since October had they won on the road in the Premier League and not since September had they claimed victory having played in Europe the previous midweek.
Just twice since Emi Martinez first walked through the doors of Villa Park in 2020, meanwhile, had they won in the Premier League without the Argentina international playing in goal.
Yet after the whistle at the Gtech Stadium, it was the much-maligned Robin Olsen being pushed toward the visiting supporters by his team-mates to soak in the adulation after a rare highlight in his Villa career.
