Douglas Luiz’s late leveller at Brentford keeps Aston Villa in race for Europe

Douglas Luiz grabbed a late equaliser as Aston Villa snatched a 1-1 draw at Brentford. Ivan Toney looked to have secured Thomas Frank’s 100th win as Brentford boss with his 20th goal of the season, but Villa have yet to draw a blank under Unai Emery and Douglas Luiz kept that record intact as their late European challenge just about stayed on track.

Villa were unchanged from their 3-0 win over Newcastle last weekend but were unable to match that dazzling display against a physical Bees side. All they had to show for an anaemic first-half performance was a Emiliano Buendía toe-poke that forced an early save from David Raya and a curler from John McGinn that went narrowly wide.

At the other end Bryan Mbeumo was giving Álex Moreno the runaround, flicking Toney’s pass over the full-back’s head before volleying straight at Emiliano Martínez. Moreno did however win their next duel, with a goal-saving sliding tackle just as the Cameroon forward was about to sidefoot Vitaly Janelt’s cross into an empty net.

Martínez bravely dived at the feet of Toney as the striker attempted to steer in Kevin Schade’s low cross and the World Cup-winner then raced out of his area to deny Janelt, hurting himself in the process to be replaced by Robin Olsen at half-time.

Olsen dealt well with a looping header from the substitute Frank Onyeka but then made an almighty mess of another header from Schade. The winger, yet to score for Brentford since joining on loan from Freiburg in January, was presented with an open goal but fired into the side-netting from a tight angle. Mbeumo should also have hit the target after racing on to Toney’s ball over the top, only to sky his first-time shot.

It felt like a goal was coming for the hosts, and one duly