Aston Villa vs Brentford LIVE: Premier League result, final score and reaction

SAVED!! Flekken is keeping his side in this encounter. Janelt inexplicably played the ball back towards his keeper but underhit it, Watkins pounced and nearly made it four with a firm shot from the right inside the box. Flekken smothered the shot and got it away to safety.

FLEKKEN SAVES!! A sumtuous passage of play involving Rogers and Watkins and Bailey ends up with another ball into the box for Watkins to try to head home, but as it is guided towards the bottom left corner, Flekken scrambles across his line and palms away and around the post. Rogers is sporting a bleached blonde look this evening, making him stand out, but it is his football making him stand out so far.

Goal Mikkel Krogh Damsgaard

Digne whips a lively ball from the left again, it looks as though McGinn tries to almost evade the ball at the near post but as he lifts his left leg it ricochets off him and goes behind for a goal kick.

A simple kick out from Martinez sees Watkins back in to Collins, Collins has nowhere to go and as he muscles Watkins to the ground he is shown the yellow card.

Flekken makes a meal of that cross. He puches with both fists, it spins up in the air, he does exactly the same again and it goes behind for a corner. Confidence looking low amongst the brentford players in this game.

VILLA SHOT!! Digne hits an unexpected left foot effort towards the near post, with Flekken expecting a cross. He beats it away for a corner.

Villa get us back underway.

Scoring three times in the first half makes a mockery of the pre-match claims that Villa were struggling to score goals recently, they have looked imperious going forward and it is reflected in the achievement of an xG of 1.29. Brentford - yet to have a shot on target - only managed 0.08 xG in that first half. Before the game, Villa's live win probability was at 54%, that has now surged to 98.1%. Brentford's live win probability went from 23.1% pre-match, to now showing as 0.3%.

That first half was played out exactly how Unai Emery must have dreamt it last night. Rogers opened the scoring with a beautiful strike with his right foot that nestled in the top right corner. The kind of goal Middlesbrough fans became accustomed to in the England international's short spell with the club. The lead was quickly doubled through a Watkins penalty after he, himself was felled by Pinnock in the box. Cash made it three on 34 minutes, making it a proverbial mountain for the visitors to climb if they are to get back into this encounter.