Brentford 1-1 Aston Villa: Luiz scores late equaliser for visitors after Toney fired Bees ahead

Unai Emery waved his magic wand once more just when it looked like Ivan Toney had shown him that all good things must come to an end.

Aston Villa had been flying under Emery until they rocked up at the Gtech Community Stadium, where they missed a chance to set a new club record of six consecutive Premier League wins.

And this looked like being their first defeat since February 18 when England striker Toney hit home his 20th goal of the season for Brentford.

But this Villa team just won’t be beaten right now, and as soon as Toney’s goal went in, Emery made a triple substitution which changed the game, forced the Bees back, and ended up in Douglas Luiz grabbing an equaliser with three minutes left.

That left Brentford, who missed a great chance to score a killer second just before Luiz struck, winless now in six matches. But at least they stopped the rot after three consecutive defeats.

Striker Ivan Toney fired Brentford ahead with his 20th goal of the season on Saturday

Mbeumo’s cross evaded Ashley Young and Toney converted at the far post in the 65th minute

When Villa need a goal, they are finding one at the moment. It’s 19 games now in the Premier League since they last failed to score, and Emery’s stock as a manager continues to rise by the day.

Granted, a win would have put them level on points with Tottenham in fifth place, but all in all the Spaniard ended the day the happier of the two managers as Thomas Frank watched his side let all three points slip away.

Both sides came out fired up and the game swung from end to end in the first half with an entertaining personal battle being fought by Bryan Mbeumo and Alex Moreno.

After Emiliano Buendia forced David Raya into a fingertip save, Mbeumo chipped the ball over Moreno and left him for dead at the other end only to see his tame shot saved.

Moreno got his own back by nutmegging the Brentford forward at the other end shortly afterwards – but then did well to slide in and prevent him scoring a tap-in after a deadly low crowd from Vitaly Janelt.

Mathias Jensen was presented with a brilliant opportunity when Leander Dendoncker got a backpass all wrong, but never looked like scoring as he bore down on goal to drag his shot well wide.

Douglas Luiz scored a late equaliser to rescue a point for a below-par Aston Villa

It was only towards the end of the half that Brentford really threatened, when Kevin Schade swung in a low cross for the lurking Ivan Toney. But Emiliano Martinez spotted the danger and was off his line like lightning to stop from point-blank range.

It only served to wake Villa up, as McGann played a nice one-two with Ollie Watkins before curling a beautiful shot just wide of the far post.

But Villa suffered a blow when Martinez did not emerge for the second half, and Brentford’s eyes may just have lit up at the sight of substitute Robin Olsen taking over between the sticks.

Olsen almost made a big mistake when he saved a header from Schade but let the ball squirm away from him for the Brentford wing back to nick away from him, and he was mighty relieved to see the resulting shot hit the side netting with the goal gaping.

By this point Villa were arguing among themselves, unsettled by the home side stepping it up a gear. But Schade’s glaring miss was followed by another from Mbeumo, although admittedly the latter was stretching to reach Toney’s lobbed pass.

Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez saves at the feed of Brentford’s Vitaly Janelt

Villa duo Ezri Konsa and Jacob Ramsey clash with Brentford’s Kevin Schad

Villa fans watch the action from the roof of a block of flats behind Gtech Community Stadium

So it wasn’t until Toney struck in the 65th minute that Brentford finally broke the deadlock, when Mbeumo made up for his miss by swinging in a searching cross to the back post. Toney still had work to do but took advantage to flat-footed Ashley Young’s poor attempted clearance to nick in front of the Villa defender and slot home coolly.

Villa were not happy when a challenge from Mbeumo left substitute Lucas Digne needing lengthy treatment, but the Frenchman was able to continue.

Mbeumo then had his head in hands when he swung in another peach of a cross only to see an unmarked Frank Onyeka fluff his lines in front of goal when it looked easier to score.

And he was made to regret it when Luiz thumped home unmarked from close range after a goalmouth scramble caused by a Digne cross which Buendia ended up playing into his path.