Villa held 2-2 by Brentford as Emery says a draw is not good enough

Aston Villa are still waiting for their first home win of the Premier League season after Brentford came from behind to draw 2-2 at Villa Park on Saturday.

Unai Emery cut a frustrated figure afterwards. "To draw at home is not a good result. We are sad," he said.

How the goals went in

Villa fell behind in the 10th minute, when Yehor Yarmolyuk scored for Brentford, but Nicolas Jackson equalised shortly afterwards.

John McGinn thought he had won the game with 15 minutes left, but Kristoffer Ajer scored moments later to level the scores again.

"We have to improve it more"

"We expected to dominate the ball more than we did," Emery said. "Defensively, we conceded more than we expected. I am optimistic because we improved things we needed to improve after Forest."

"Lack of control is one thing today that we improved compared with Forest, but we have to improve it more. There are a lot of reasons why."

Team news

Emery made one change from the side that won 3-2 at Tottenham before the break, with Matty Cash coming in for Aaron Wan-Bissaka. Wan-Bissaka came on at half-time after Matteo Ruggeri suffered a hamstring injury, which is likely to force a reshuffle in defence for the next match.

Taylor Harwood-Bellis was not in the squad, and George Hemmings has a minor knee injury. Asked how Villa have replaced Ezri Konsa, Emery said Victor Lindelof was playing well, and added: "We are going to need time with some players. We know it. We must be patient."

A point at last

The draw ended a run of two home league defeats, against Arsenal and Nottingham Forest, and kept Villa unbeaten in their last three matches in all competitions. Brentford remain unbeaten this season.

Villa travel to Newcastle next, before Champions League home matches against Fenerbahce and Viking. With Ruggeri likely to be missing and Ian Maatsen still out, Emery will have to rethink the left side of his defence for a demanding run of games.

Brentford, managed by Keith Andrews, have now taken points from Villa Park in each of their last two visits, and have built a reputation as one of the hardest teams in the division to beat.

North Stand takes shape

Off the pitch, the redevelopment of the North Stand has reached a milestone. Cranes have begun lifting the first large precast concrete sections into place, and the side structures of the expanded stand are starting to rise.

New home and away dressing rooms are being built in the corner between the Trinity Road Stand and the North Stand, along with a new players' tunnel, which will change the route players take on to the pitch.

Banners now cover the gaps in the lower part of the stand that were visible during the matches against Arsenal and Forest. The capacity is around 37,000 this season while the work goes on.