Aston Villa v Brentford player ratings

Brentford’s first visit to Villa Park since 1953 ended in a 1-1 draw, thanks to John Egan’s late goal. Here’s how we rated the Bees players.

Daniel Bentley: 8
For spells it was him against Jonathan Kodjia – the big-money Villa buy forced the far cheaper Brentford keeper into a save early on, beat him with a rasping drive and then tested him late on. Bentley also handled everything else Villa threw at him.

Maxime Colin: 7
Was afforded space down the right-hand side, with Jordan Ayew drifting inside all the time, and he used that to good effect, even getting a couple of efforts on goal. Defensively, he worked hard and was unlucky to be booked.

Harlee Dean: 7
Solid performance, if occasionally tough in the air against Rudy Gestede. Used his experience to good effect at times to limit Villa’s chances.

John Egan: 8
An excellent defensive display from the ex-Gillingham man, even before his 88th-minute equaliser. Won a lot in the air and was composed on the ball.

Andreas Bjelland: 6
Struggled at left-back against the speedy Kodjia but got his head to the ball a few times and supported the attack well as Villa sat back in the second half.

Nico Yennaris: 6
Tidy on the ball and had a shot blocked late in the first half, but also sent one effort out for a throw. Replaced by Josh McEachran on 82 minutes.

Ryan Woods: 7
Kept possession well and only Bjelland had more touches of the ball. Could’ve been a hero in injury time as he forced a save from Pierluigi Gollini.

Josh Clarke: 6
Busy up and down the right flank and was involved a fair bit early on, but struggled to make the final ball count. Replaced by Sulley Kaikai, who really did.

Romaine Sawyers: 6
Wandered around looking to pull Villa’s centre-halves out and create space for Hogan, but like Clarke could not create much of note.

Lewis Macleod: 6
Positives: showed some neat touches and added a bit of invention at times. Negatives: those poor set pieces. Replaced by Lasse Vibe on 76 minutes.

Scott Hogan: 7
Looked a little isolated early on but gradually became a threat as the first half wore on. Once he had made his intentions clear, Villa became wary of him and his clever movement – he wasn’t able to repeat his two-goal heroics of Saturday, but he did his job well.

Sulley Kaikai: 7
Bright and breezy during his 35-minute cameo, setting up the equaliser with a fine cross to the far post.