Douglas Luiz cancels out Ivan Toney’s goal to secure Villa draw at Brentford

Andy Sims, PA

Douglas Luiz grabbed a late equaliser as Aston Villa snatched a 1-1 draw at Brentford.

Ivan Toney looked to have secured a 100th win as Brentford boss for Thomas Frank with his 20th goal of the season.

But Villa have yet to not score in a match since Unai Emery was appointed manager last October, and Luiz kept up that record as their late European challenge just about stayed on track.

Villa were unchanged from their 3-0 win over Newcastle last weekend, but were unable to match that dazzling display against a physical Bees side.

All they had to show for an anaemic first-half performance was Emiliano Buendia’s toe-poke, which forced an early save from David Raya, and a narrowly wide curler from John McGinn.

At the other end Bryan Mbeumo was giving Alex Moreno the runaround, flicking Toney’s pass over the full-back’s head before volleying straight at Emiliano Martinez.

Moreno won their next duel with a goal-saving sliding tackle just as the Cameroon forward was about to sidefoot Vitaly Janelt’s cross into an empty net.

Martinez bravely dived at the feet of Toney as the Bees frontman attempted to steer in Kevin Schade’s low cross.

The Argentina World Cup-winner also raced out of his area to deny Janelt, and must have hurt himself in the process as he was replaced by Robin Olsen at half-time.

Olsen dealt with a looping header from Bees substitute Frank Onyeka, but then made an almighty mess of another header from Schade.

The winger, yet to score for the Bees since joining on loan from Freiburg in January, was presented with an open goal but from a tight angle he fired into the side-netting.

Mbeumo should also have hit the target after racing on to Toney’s ball over the top, only to sky his first-time shot.

A goal was coming, and it arrived in the 65th minute when Mbeumo tormented Moreno once more before swinging in a cross which Ashley Young missed and Toney converted at the far post.

Onyeka should have doubled the lead when he met another Mbeumo cross but he scuffed his effort wide.

It proved a costly miss three minutes from time when, after a goalmouth scramble, Buendia pulled the ball back for Luiz to lash home and snatch a point.

There was still time for Ollie Watkins, who had a quiet game against his old side, to squander a chance to make it a club-record sixth straight Premier League win for Villa when his stoppage-time header flew over.