Villa's post-European record this term suggested they would struggle to carry the momentum from their midweek round of 16 first-leg win over Club Brugge into this clash, and that seemed to be the case early on when John McGinn gave the ball away inside his penalty area.
However, a Youri Tielemans challenge denied Yoane Wissa a gilt-edged chance. Unai Emery’s side did grow into the game, with Jacob Ramsey and Leon Bailey trying their luck before Tyrone Mings steered a Tielemans free-kick straight at Mark Flekken.
Shortly after the half-hour mark, Tielemans went on a driving run into the box and tested Flekken from a tight angle, and after the resulting corner was cleared to Ramsey, his cross was knocked back across goal by the Belgian and almost turned into his own net by Ethan Pinnock.
Though Villa were on top, it was the Bees who had the ball in the net 10 minutes before the break, but Wissa knew the flag was up for offside when he tapped home after rounding Robin Olsen.
The Villans had not completed a league double over Brentford since 1947, but that looked set to change early in the second half when Tielemans set a counter-attack in motion before Ramsey found Ollie Watkins on the left.
The England striker cut inside, and his shot from a narrow angle deflected off Kristoffer Ajer and beat Flekken to give Villa the lead.
The visitors thought they had doubled their advantage just two minutes later when Watkins turned provider for Rogers, only for VAR to spot an offside in the build-up.
Brentford’s response was met by stout Villa defending, and they failed to create a genuine chance until 20 minutes to go when Wissa laid the ball off for Keane Lewis-Potter, who struck the post from the edge of the area.
Late on, Kevin Scade forced a strong save from Olsen, before pinball in the Villa box ended with Mikkel Damsgaard firing narrowly wide. Ultimately, though, Villa held on to a win which was just their second in the PL in their last eight matches as Thomas Frank’s side slipped to seven without a win in the competition.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Youri Tielemans (Aston Villa)