Aston Villa continued on their upward trajectory by posting a fourth successive win in the form of a 2-1 victory over Burnley, securing a third successive H2H league win for the first time since 1900 in the process.
Key stats
- Donyell Malen has scored two goals in the Premier League this season (two in this game), more than any other Aston Villa player
- Aston Villa are undefeated in their last four games in the Premier League, their last longer unbeaten streak was from 8th March 2025 to 19th April 2025, a run of five games
- Lesley Ugochukwu has scored only his second goal in the Premier League on his 44th appearance - his other came for Southampton vs West Ham in April
Highlights
Analysis
Aston Villa were in the driving seat early on, and never really relinquished that pressure despite small periods of momentum swinging in the direction of the away side.
Match report
High on three successive victories, it was little surprise to see Villa start on the front foot against a struggling Burnley.
Although their early pressure yielded little by way of open-play chances, two set-pieces led to two early opportunities, but while Donyell Malen couldn’t quite direct his effort on target, Ezri Konsa’s goalbound header was beaten away by Martin Dúbravka.
It felt like a matter of time before Villa finally found a breakthrough, and that came midway through the first half.
There was an element of simplicity to it too, as one ball from Boubacar Kamara split the entire Clarets defence and afforded Malen the relatively simple chance to slot past the onrushing Dúbravka.
Burnley took 35 minutes to get close enough to the Villa goal to test Emiliano Martínez, but when they did, the Argentine needed to be at his best to tip Josh Cullen’s half-volley around the post, before Jaidon Anthony’s cross-shot from the resulting corner bounced back off the crossbar.
The unusual issue for Scott Parker’s men was that they simply couldn’t tighten up at the back, and another simple pass split their defence on the stroke of HT and freed Malen again, but this time a last-ditch Maxime Estève block denied what would’ve been a certain second goal for the hosts.
The second half followed a much similar pattern to the first, with Villa dominating for the most part. Their quest to find a crucial second goal was almost complete within 10 minutes of the restart, when one ball again caused chaos in the Burnley defence and the Clarets needed to be bailed out by the legs of Dúbravka as he denied Morgan Rogers from point-blank range.
Unai Emery’s men didn’t have to wait too much longer to find that elusive second goal though. The influential Rogers and Malen were again involved, with the former finding the latter who made no mistake in arrowing an effort into the far corner to double his personal tally.
Villa were unwilling to relent and almost added a third within a minute of the restart when Matty Cash forced another stunning save out of Dúbravka. Completely out of the blue, Burnley found a way back into the game from a set-piece when Quilindschy Hartman’s corner found the unmarked Lesley Ugochukwu, whose header squirmed beneath Martínez.
That gave Parker’s men a platform to build upon in the closing stages, but they were unable to translate that momentum into a second goal and saw their winless league run stretch to five games. Villa seem to have finally turned a corner now with four wins in a row, and the international break will feel a little inopportunely timed to them.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Donyell Malen (Aston Villa)
Post-match comments
Aston Villa goalscorer Donyell Malen was pleased with his side's showing as they secured three points ahead of the international break.
"I think it was a good performance overall," he told BBC Match of the Day.
"First half we were really on it and at periods during the second half we were also good so quite pleased. You don't want to concede because you know they are going to come back but the whole team did well to maintain the lead."
While Unai Emery said he is happy with the way the players have conducted themselves throughout this week.
"Here in Villa Park we have to make it a fortress, we have to compete and we are finishing before the international break in good balance," he told Sky Sports.
"We are feeling more comfortable than we were. I am really happy how the players have responded with our demands."
Burnley manager Scott Parker, meanwhile, says perspective is important when reflecting on his side's defeat.
"We were competitive, the second goal was poor from us," he told Sky Sports. "It's a young team and I think over the first seven games we have switched off at times. If you switch off for one second here you get punished.
"It's another brand new team, it is a brand new defensive line and we are working tirelessly with that. We have switched off in certain moments and looked a bit young.
"There is frustration there because we have been really close. Perspective is something that I live by. We understand the challenge. We need to improve in certain areas and we will endeavour to do that."