by Ollie Watkins has accused a Brentford supporter of verbally abusing him “all game” after his match-winning goal celebration sparked a melee as the Aston Villa striker returned to his former club.
The England international accused one fan of making abusive comments to him which Telegraph Sport understands was aimed at his family, while others booed him despite his move to Villa in 2020 on good terms – which the head coach has admitted Brentford, Thomas Frank, “that he could not”. t understand” afterwards.
“It was a bit of a wild game, it all sparked from my celebration but that’s not because of any disrespect to the fans,” Watkins said after several players from both teams were involved in two separate scuffles. after his winner 85 minutes. .
“I love the club, the players and the team, I have nothing bad to say against them. But one person was abusing me all the time, no one else had the celebration but it was aimed directly at him.
“[Thomas Frank] asked me why I celebrated like that, I’m still on texting terms with him but it’s because of that reason.
“I feel I’ve done so much for the club and they’ve done so much for me, football’s football and you can have a bit of a feud but not when it’s personal. If the club doesn’t believe me it’s up to them – but I explained it to Thomas and he knows I wouldn’t do that for any reason. It made me angry and that’s what happened.”
The red mist descended as the game suddenly turned to one tackle. By the 71st minute of an epic contest, Brentford were 1-0 up and cruising to victory over in-form Villa, defiant when Ben Mee scythed over Leon Bailey. Referee David Coote awarded a yellow card, but Var intervened and the yellow was soon upgraded to red.
Brentford head coach Frank took to the pitch to complain and was booked himself. “It wasn’t red,” he said. “Do we need physical contact sport or not?”
Six minutes later, Villa equalized when Leon Bailey crossed deep and, after Jacob Ramsey set him up, Mads Roerslev failed to notice Alex Moreno swooping in to curl a sharp header past Mark Flekken for the first goal of the season. Spanish in the Premier League.
And just eight minutes later, Villa won it when Boubacar Kamara headed home Ramsey’s corner and Watkins headed in to give his side their first win in these parts since 1947. Then the madness began.
“Ollie is a man of great integrity,” Frank said. “I couldn’t understand why the fans were booing him.”
“I can’t explain what happened,” said Villa head coach Unai Emery. “I don’t understand it. I thought (Ezri) had scored Konsa.”
A game that had been simmering with tension even before Mee exploded into two almighty melees that involved almost every player. Coote allowed them to blow themselves out before a series of yellow cards were handed out.
After denying a penalty when he was brought down by Emiliano Martinez, Neal Maupay was booked for an idiotic save on the Argentina goalkeeper as the ball swung away from the pair and went offside. Moments later, Martinez returned the favor. Maupay stayed down, making his anger clear. Another promotion followed, when Kamara bumped into Yehor Yarmoliuk and was sent off, Villa head coach Emery tried to calm down Martinez and became the second head coach to be booked.
“I wanted to calm my players down,” Emery said. “Emiliano was a bit absent. Tomorrow we will talk to the players about what happened when we lost control.”
“I didn’t like what happened at the end of the game,” Frank said. “Head coaches, fans and players need to show more class.
Next to the rowing, there was a great football match. Getting the better of Manchester City and Arsenal in four straight days was a clear statement of Villa’s intent, but Champions League titles and slots are largely secured by knocking down more accurate teams like Brentford. Brentford seemed to have answers to the questions that were too difficult for Arsenal and City.
Villa arrived with the palpable swagger of a team that hadn’t lost since Bonfire Night and were in a hurry, winning a series of early corners down the left where Roerslev struggled to contain Moreno’s fast and furious overlap.
Unlike so many of their peers, Brentford found a way to contain Villa. They defended deep and in the face of Villa’s pressing press, reset smoothly, turning their three goals into five, while the excellent Christian Norgaard and Mikkel Damsgaard filled the midfield holes that Villa love to exploit. benefit more adroitly than Arsenal and Manchester City.
The game soon turned into a rollercoaster. Long before Martinez and Maupay came together, Brentford might have had an early penalty when John McGinn tackled Mee to the ground.
Then, as fourth official Simon Hooper was raising the first half extra time board, Brentford pushed ahead. Saman Ghoddos headed in a corner from the left. He deflected the goal from behind Watkins. Moreno looked set to clear, but as he swung his left foot, Keane Lewis-Potter headed in from behind to head home his first league goal since joining from Hull City at the start of last season.
Until Mee’s dismissal, Brentford looked, if not safe, getting more comfortable as the minutes went on, but with Mee gone, the game would turn on its head.
