Ajer's late equaliser keeps Brentford unbeaten as Villa's home wait goes on

Kristoffer Ajer’s second-half equaliser earned Brentford a 2-2 draw at Aston Villa on Sunday, stretching Keith Andrews’ side’s unbeaten Premier League start to six games and leaving Villa still searching for their first home league victory of the season.

Brentford struck first at Villa Park when Tyrone Mings’ stray pass fell to Igor Thiago, whose cross was cleared directly into the path of Yehor Yarmoliuk, who buried a first-time finish past Zion Suzuki in the 10th minute — the Ukrainian’s first goal since January. The celebrations had barely subsided before Nicolas Jackson levelled, stabbing home after Emi Buendia’s deflected shot fell kindly to him, just 88 seconds after the opener.

The game remained open and end-to-end throughout the first half, with Villa’s Johan Manzambi going close on two occasions and Caoimhin Kelleher producing a crucial double save to deny Jackson and then Buendia before the break. Jaidon Anthony tested Suzuki from the edge of the area at the other end as both goalkeepers were kept busy.

Villa thought they had secured all three points when John McGinn, so often the heartbeat of the club across his eight years at Villa Park, struck his first league goal of the season in the 77th minute to send the home crowd into raptures.

But Brentford refused to fold. Just over two minutes later, Ajer pulled the visitors level to ensure the points were shared and preserve their impressive unbeaten run to start the campaign.

The result leaves Villa frustrated at home, where they have now managed just a single point from their opening league fixtures at Villa Park, while Brentford’s resilience under Andrews continues to be one of the early-season stories of the Premier League.