A frantic start did not suit Villa, with an early mistake leading to a Kevin Schade effort on the counter, but it wasn’t long before the hosts began to assert their dominance.
A shot on target for Ollie Watkins was a sign of things to come, and the opener came through a moment of brilliance from Morgan Rogers, who exchanged passes with Watkins before sublimely guiding a curling shot into the top corner.
Brentford looked shell-shocked, and Ethan Pinnock’s foul on Watkins granted Villa an opportunity to double the lead from the spot, which the former Bees striker duly took despite Mark Flekken’s best efforts to turn it away.
Villa hadn’t looked this comfortable in weeks, and they were beckoned forward by their captain John McGinn. It was his forward run which led to a third after Rogers’ eventual cross dropped to Matty Cash at the far post, with the Pole volleying in his first of the season.
The home side could have had even more before the break, and they were no less relentless after the restart, calling Flekken into multiple saves including one to palm away Watkins’ header.
For all that dominance, Brentford needed just a single opportunity to find a reply. Bryan Mbeumo’s cross was kept alive by Yoane Wissa, and it eventually fell to Mikkel Damsgaard, who came inside and smashed into the roof of the net.
Watkins’ failure to beat Flekken one-on-one meant Villa missed their chance to truly put the game to bed, leading to some nervy late exchanges, especially when Brentford’s new signing Igor Thiago hit just over having only entered the fray moments early.
The end of Villa’s eight-match winless run catapulted them above Brentford and back into the top half, and they could climb as high as fifth with a win over bottom club Southampton on Saturday.
Brentford have still never won a league match at Villa Park, and it’s their dismal away form which needs to sharply improve if they are to mount an unlikely challenge for European football.