Aston Villa seemed buoyed by the absence of Steven Gerrard this afternoon, running out as convincing 4-0 winners over Brentford in their first fixture since their manager was sacked in midweek.
It was certainly a performance that contrasted to some of their showings in recent times. Whereas they previously looked slow in attack and lacking in ideas, their pace of play was blistering at times today. They would burst out of the traps in the game, finding themselves 3-0 up inside the opening 45 minutes.
While Villa will be hoping this result can begin to turn their season around, it would have been a concerning afternoon for Brentford. They have had a good Premier League campaign up to this point, although they way in which they capitulated in this game could raise some questions.
Ivan Toney calls out Brentford teammates after loss
Ivan Toney has been the club's star performer in recent months, although he could do little to stop them falling to a heavy defeat in this fixture.
Speaking after the game, he called out his teammates and demand that they improve moving forward.
Shambles, to be honest. Shambles.
They fully deserved the result and it could have been more. We were like a bunch of kids out there. I don't mind losing games but not like that. Embarrassing performance from the boys.
We knew what they were about, we knew they had quality throughout the team. They put in a performance today and deserved to win.
Fifteen minutes in, 3-0 down. That cannot happen in a Premier League game. We had it against Newcastle and we bounced back so hopefully we can do that again.
Ivan Toney was included in the England squad for the first time last month, although he did not feature in either of the games against Italy or Germany.
He will be hoping for some big performance before the squad for the World Cup is named, with his chances of going to Qatar not helped when his team plays like they did this afternoon.
He has also been linked with a move away from Brentford in the January transfer window, with Graham Potter thought to be interested in bringing him to Chelsea.
SEE ALSO: Gary Neville Hammers Aston Villa For Handling Of Steven Gerrard Sacking
