Burnley 1 – 3 A Villa

Matty Cash’s first Aston Villa goals in over a year inspired Unai Emery’s side to a 3-1 victory over Burnley at Turf Moor.

Cash came into the team as the only unenforced change from Villa’s 5-0 midweek Europa Conference League play-off win over Hibernian, and ensured there was no European hangover for his side as he scored twice in the opening 20 minutes.

Lyle Foster gave Burnley hope with a powerful strike two minutes into the second half, but Moussa Diaby restored Villa’s two-goal advantage just after the hour as they ended a five-match winless league run on the road.

Villa introduced summer signing Nicolo Zaniolo late in the second half and the Italian almost marked his debut with a goal, but his new side had already done enough to make sure the three points were theirs, with the result lifting them to sixth in the Premier League table.

As for Burnley, they find themselves in 18th place after the opening few weeks of the campaign. Vincent Kompany’s team built their Sky Bet Championship title on the back of a 21-match unbeaten run at home, but have started life back in the top flight with back-to-back defeats at Turf Moor.

How Villa dealt Burnley another blow

Cash, playing in an advanced role on the right side of Villa’s midfield, needed only eight minutes to break the deadlock, sliding in to poke home Ollie Watkins’ cross after John McGinn’s lofted ball over the top had left Burnley goalkeeper James Trafford caught in two minds.

It was the Poland international’s first goal since the final day of the 2021-22 season and the drama of Manchester City’s title-winning come-from-behind win over Villa, but there would soon be another with Cash at the heart of a slick passing move.

Cutting in from the right to collect Watkins’ pass, Cash laid the ball off for Diaby on the right side of the box, then charged into the centre to lash home the resulting cross.

Burnley looked rusty after the postponement of last weekend’s trip to Luton left them with an enforced rest and were being overrun defensively as the chances kept coming.

Cash, brimming with confidence, tried a spectacular volley from Lucas Digne’s deep cross in the 35th minute, but Hannes Delcroix, making his Burnley debut after arriving in midweek from Anderlecht, got in a block to send it over the crossbar.

Cash again linked up with Diaby, whose deflected cross found Watkins, but Trafford was in the right place to deny him from point-blank range.

Burnley had done little to threaten the goal of Robin Olsen, making his first Premier League start since New Year’s Day with Emi Martinez sidelined by a calf strain, but things changed immediately at the start of the second half.

Johann Berg Gudmundsson, on as a substitute, headed a deep ball back into the box and Foster had the power to hold off Pau Torres, spinning to fire beyond Olsen.

Burnley were suddenly on top. Sander Berge sent in a cross begging for a touch, then Zeki Amdouni caused panic between Torres and Olsen.

More confusion between Olsen and Boubacar Kamara allowed Berge to run into the box, winning a corner from which Olsen did well to deny Delcroix a debut goal.

Having coped with the pressure, Villa hit Burnley on the break just after the hour. McGinn shrugged off a shirt pull from Ameen Al-Dakhil to play in Digne, who pulled the ball back for Diaby to find the bottom right corner – the goal surviving a VAR check for offside.

Watkins should have made it four in the 67th minute when he beat Delcroix to a low cross but Trafford again denied him from close range, holding smartly.

Zaniolo replaced Diaby to make his Villa debut and almost scored with his first involvement, seeing his shot deflected wide, but the Italy international should have squared for the unmarked Watkins.

Cash, still fancying a hat-trick, shot narrowly wide with 10 minutes left while Zaniolo flashed a powerful effort just over. Burnley substitute Jay Rodriguez then twice threatened Olsen’s goal late on, but there was no way back for the hosts.

Emery praises ‘versatile’ Cash

Aston Villa head coach Unai Emery said: “He’s versatile, he played before as a winger, he’s playing with us in a back four sometimes, sometimes lower, but we used him in pre-season playing higher, as a winger.

“He helped us a lot today defensively and offensively and then he used the moment to remember when he played more at Nottingham Forest as a winger. His two goals were a good example for us but we know he can be versatile.”

That versatility can be key for Villa at a time when injuries are limiting Emery’s options. The Spaniard named only eight players, two of them goalkeepers, on the bench, and admitted Villa could be active again before the transfer window closes.

“There are still four days to finish the transfer window and we have to be ready,” Emery said. “We have to be ready in case someone is leaving, in case we have a good opportunity to add another player with us.

“Always in my teams I was working and I am ready at the end if someone can come with us or someone can leave.”

On Moussa Diaby, who impressed again for Villa against Burnley, Emery said: “His adaptation is going fast but he needs this adaptation each match for him to know better his team-mates and then where in our structure is his best position. He is a player who is versatile as well.

“It’s very important for him and for the team, his capacity to assist, to score goals.”

Kompany: Learning comes at a price

Burnley manager Vincent Kompany said: “Learning comes at a price in the Premier League. I didn’t think we started the game badly, we had moments, we just didn’t manage to get a real grip on the game and there was always the threat of Aston Villa counters.

“In the second half we built momentum, the goal helped us for that definitely, and just at the peak of that momentum we conceded the goal and that was a little bit the story of the game.”

Kompany handed a debut to Hannes Delcroix, meaning six of the starting XI were new signings this summer. The manager admitted there will be a bedding-in period.

“It’s a conscious choice,” he said. “You look at the bottom of the league and you find every flavour – teams that are settled and have not changed and teams that have changed.

“For us, we want to move forward. I’ve seen enough in our team to know that we make a game out of games. Every game there is something for us, and if that continues I believe we’ll have enough results.”

How the match played out

Fantasy Premier League stats

Opta stats: Villa becoming a force away from home

• Burnley have lost their opening two games of a season in each of their last three Premier League campaigns.
• Since Unai Emery took charge in November 2022, only Manchester City (10) and Arsenal (9) have won more Premier League away games than Aston Villa (7).
• Moussa Diaby is the first Frenchman to be involved in three Premier League goals in his first three appearances in the competition (2 goals, 1 assist) since Anthony Martial in September 2015.
• Matty Cash scored just the second brace of his career in what is his 253rd appearance across all competitions, after his two-goal cameo for Nottingham Forest against Norwich in December 2018.
• Ollie Watkins has been involved in 55 Premier League goals since his Aston Villa debut in September 2020 (40 goals, 15 assists).

What’s next?

Burnley are in midweek Carabao Cup action as they visit Nottingham Forest on Wednesday night, kick-off 7.45pm. The Clarets then host Tottenham in their next Premier League game on Saturday, kick-off 3pm.

Aston Villa have the second leg of their Europa Conference League play-off against Hibernian on Thursday night at 8pm, with Unai Emery’s side 5-0 up from the first leg. Villa then go to Anfield to play Liverpool next Sunday, kick-off 2pm.