A Villa 4 – 0 Brentford

Aston Villa looked a different side in their first game after Steven Gerrard’s sacking with Danny Ings twice on target in a 4-0 thrashing of Brentford at Villa Park.

Having scored only once in their final four games under Gerrard, Villa raced into a 3-0 lead under caretaker manager Aaron Danks inside 15 minutes against a shellshocked Brentford, with Leon Bailey setting them on their way from a corner after barely 60 seconds.

He then turned provider to tee up Ings for a smart near-post finish (7) before Tyrone Mings was hauled down by Kristoffer Ajer and the Villa striker added their third from 12 yards. Less than 72 hours after Gerrard’s departure, Villa’s turnaround could not have been more instantaneous.

Douglas Luiz almost made it four direct from a corner before the break but Ollie Watkins did add to the jubilant atmosphere around Villa Park after it, firing home at the third attempt after he had twice been denied by the post and David Raya.

Brentford’s best effort came through Bryan Mbeumo, who missed an open goal when sidefooting a rebound wide from six yards, but they were soundly beaten by four goals for the second away game in succession, while Villa eased their relegation worries with a first win in five matches.

How Villa got their swagger back to batter Brentford

A lack of goals, poor defensive errors and all-round poor play had underpinned the final weeks of Gerrard’s era and he would have looked on as stunned as anyone at Villa’s performance after a limp loss at Fulham on Thursday.

From scoring only four home goals all season, they were three up with less than 15 minutes gone and gave Danks the perfect start when a training-ground move from a corner was turned home by Bailey.

Villa blew their opponents away as much as their own fans with a second inside seven minutes, as Bailey found Ings’ run across the near post and the former England striker beat Raya with an emphatic finish.

A penalty and a Mings own goal had played a part in Gerrard’s downfall at Fulham, and there was some redemption when the centre-back earned a spot-kick of his own soon after a clear tug from Ajer in his own box.

Up stepped Ings to send Villa Park delirious before the clock had ticked into its 15th minute.

From there, the game was as good as won with more than an hour left but Villa’s unfamiliarly high intensity and pressing continued, and Luiz could have added to his collection of direct corner goals but for the width of the woodwork.

Thomas Frank had seen enough of an abject Brentford performance by half-time and brought on Josh Dasilva and Sergi Canos, but saw only minor improvement after the break.

Instead, it was former Bees striker Watkins who grabbed the fourth goal of the game, meeting Bailey’s low cross well before first Raya and the post denied him, only for a kind bounce to present him a simple finish at the third time of asking.

From there it really was game over, with the pace of the match dented and only Mbeumo’s shocking miss seriously threatening to add any more goals to an eyebrow-raising scoreline.

Danks could not have dreamt of a better start to life as Villa’s caretaker but it was another nightmare on the road for Frank, whose Brentford side have now shipped 15 goals in six winless games away from home.

What’s next?

Aston Villa are back in Premier League action on Saturday when they travel to Newcastle; kick-off 3pm. Brentford also play on October 29, taking on Wolves in the Premier League; kick-off 3pm.