Aston Villa staged a dramatic comeback to defeat Brentford after a contentious red card was shown to Bees defender Ben Mee.
Keane Lewis-Potter scored the opening goal for the hosts just before the end of the first half, firing through a crowded penalty area after Villa failed to clear a corner from the left.
However, the game took a turn when Ben Mee was shown a red card in the 71st minute for diving in and catching Leon Bailey on the ankle.
On-field referee David Coote, positioned close to the incident, initially issued Mee a yellow card, but after a review by video assistant referee Craig Pawson, the decision was reconsidered, and it was upgraded to a red card.
Brentford manager Thomas Frank expressed his frustration with the decision and received a booking, while Villa took advantage of their numerical superiority six minutes later.
Bailey’s cross was headed in at the back post by Alex Moreno for the equalizer, and Watkins secured the 85th-minute winner from Boubacar Kamara’s flick-on.
In a contentious match, Kamara was later sent off for pushing Yehor Yarmoliuk in the face during stoppage time, and Villa boss Unai Emery also received a caution.
Ugly scenes could get both teams in trouble
Both teams could potentially face disciplinary measures from the Football Association for their failure to control their players during a series of unpleasant incidents in the closing stages of the match.
Brentford and Aston Villa each had a player sent off, with six players booked for Brentford and four for Villa, in addition to both managers receiving cautions.
Watkins, who spent three years at Brentford between 2017 and 2020, scored 49 goals for the Bees during that period. Despite this connection, he celebrated his decisive goal by standing inside the goal and pointing at a supporter, who may have directed abusive language toward the England striker.
Following this, Brentford’s Saman Ghoddos shoved Watkins, triggering the first of several scuffles involving players from both sides.
Following those incidents, there were bizarre scenes involving Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez and Brentford forward Neal Maupay.
Villa’s Bailey came close to scoring an own goal with a miscalculated backpass from nearly the halfway line, ultimately hitting the side netting. Subsequently, Maupay, attempting to retrieve the ball for the corner, collided with Martinez, who seemed to make minimal contact and exaggerated the situation.
The duo was then engaged in another altercation, with Maupay this time reacting excessively to minimal contact from the goalkeeper.
Martinez attempted to lift Maupay forcefully off the ground, leading to a skirmish involving players from both teams. Kamara, in the midst of the commotion, pushed the face of substitute Yarmoliuk and received a red card.
Emery, seemingly intervening to move Martinez away from the incident, was subsequently cautioned, concluding the match in a fiery manner.
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