Burnley 1-3 Aston Villa: Matty Cash double and Moussa Diaby goal ensures the second win of season for Unai Emery’s men… while hosts sink to second straight defeat
- Matty Cash scored an early brace and Moussa Diaby added another to help Villa
- Unai Emery has led a strong turnaround after their 5-1 humbling at Newcastle
- Vincent Kompany is still searching for his first points with Burnley in the top tier
Matty Cash scored only the second brace of his career as Aston Villa continued their fine start to the season, leaving Burnley still looking for their first point.
Cash justified Unai Emery’s decision to recall him at wing-back by scoring twice in the opening 20 minutes.
Lyle Foster gave Burnley a lifeline at the start of the second half but Moussa Diaby’s sidefoot after an hour ensured Villa took the spoils, taking their goal tally to 12 in three matches.
A busy afternoon started when Cash after eight minutes with his first Villa goal for 15 months.
And as the visitors continued to purr in the early stages, their unlikely hero exchanged passes with Diaby to fire home again, matching his double playing for Nottingham Forest against Norwich in 2018.
Matty Cash, right, scored just the second brace of his career to leave Burnley without a point
Lyle Foster gave Burnley a lifeline just after half-time as he halved the deficit
Moussa Diaby finished the job after the hour mark with Villa’s third goal to give the visitors their second win of the season
Burnley boss Vincent Kompany, with 13 signings in the transfer window, threw on one of his old guard Johan Berg Gudmundsson at half-time and was rewarded when the Icelander set up Foster to score with his side’s first shot on target.
It brought renewed energy to Turf Moor but Villa survived attempts for a Burnley equaliser before Diaby clinically beat James Trafford from the edge of the box.
Only one of Burnley’s starting XI, defender Connor Roberts, was already at Turf Moor when the manager joined in the summer of 2022.
For the first half they looked like a collection of strangers while more established players Josh Brownhill, Jack Cork, Jay Rodriguez and Gudmundsson sat on the bench.
Burnley had waited 16 days since their last fixture and Kompany gave defender Hannes Delcroix a debut after his signing from Anderlecht.
For Villa, Robin Olsen was in goal with Emi Martinez missing out due to a calf injury.
Villa had banged in nine goals in their previous two games, including a 5-0 Europa Conference win at Hibs on Thursday night, and they were quicky at it again.
Ollie Watkins surged down the left to reach John McGinn’s pass and though his clumsy first touch gave Trafford the chance to race out and gather, the England under-21 international hesitated.
After a 5-1 opening defeat to Newcastle, Emery has masterminded a 4-0 win over Everton and a 3-1 win over Burnley
Watkins took full advantage. With Trafford anticipating a shot he skilfully clipped the ball across the six-yard box where Cash timed his run perfectly to stab home.
It was Cash’s first Villa goal since netting against Manchester City on the final day two seasons ago.
After 20 minutes, the Poland international was at it again. Villa sliced through the Burnley defence, Cash feeding Diaby and then accelerating in the box to collect the return.
When the ball was slid across, he couldn’t miss from a few yards.
Burnley hung on grimly to the half-time whistle without registering a shot on target and then Kompany introduced the knowhow of Gudmundsson for Benson.
Within two minutes of the restart, Burnley had grabbed a goal – their first of the season.
Luca Koloesha caused panic by running at the Villa defence and Connor Roberts fed Gudmundsson to head down in the box. Lyle Foster did the rest with a sweet connection from 12 yards to left Olsen clutching at thin air.
Gudmundsson’s outswinging corner in the next Burnley attack saw Roberts then volley over as the noise levels rose dramatically at Turf Moor.
Vincent Kompany is still searching for his first points in the Premier League with Burnley after a barnstorming season in the Championship
Berge was beginning to gain influence as he pushed further forward and his link-ups with Koleosho caused disquiet in the visiting defence.
With Villa under the cosh, Olsen had to claw away a header by Delcroix who was picked out by Gudmundsson’s corner.
The visitors kept their cool and struck again in lethal fashion.
Lucas Digne advanced down the left and pulled back on the edge of the box to Diaby whose first-time finish accurately nestled in the bottom corner.
Burnley fans got their first glimpse of their latest arrival, Aaron Ramsey, when he replaced Berge midway through the second half, against the club he left for £14million last week. Emery responded by also giving a debut off the bench to Italian Nicolo Zaniolo.
He had an early chance to make an impact but his shot heading to the corner was deflected wide.
Villa enjoyed the final 10 minutes and Cash even had a glory attempt at a hat-trick. To be fair it was on-target until Trafford tipped away for a corner.
Burnley 1-3 Aston Villa stats
Burnley (4-2-3-1): Trafford 5.5: Roberts 6.5, Al-Dakhil 6, O’Shea 6, Delcroix 6; Berge 6.5 (Ramsey 68 5.5), Cullen 6; Foster 6.5 (Rodriguez 82), Manuel 5.5 (Gudmundsson 45 7), Koleosho 7 (Redmond 68 6); Amdouni 6Subs unused: Muric (Gk), Cork, Brownhill, Vitinha, LarsenBooked: Cullen, Berge
Goal: Foster 47
Manager: Vincent Kompany 5.5
Aston Villa (3-4-3): Olsen 6: Konsa 6, Diego Carlos 6, Torres 6.5; Cash 8, Kamara 6, Luiz 6 (Tielemans 86), Digne 6.5 (Traore 81); Diaby 7.5 (Zaniolo 73), Watkins 7 (Duran 86), McGinn 7Subs unused: Marschall (Gk), Zych (Gk), Chambers, BaileyGoals: Cash 8 & 20, Diaby 61
Manager: Unai Emery 7
Referee: Michael Salisbury 7
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