Goals in each half from Donyell Malen give Aston Villa edge over Burnley

As Aston Villa appeared to be cantering towards a fourth successive victory in all competitions, it was hard not to wonder: what was all the fuss about? Donyell Malen was the match-winner for Villa in Unai Emery’s 150th game in charge of the club, the Dutchman applying a pair of expert finishes after seizing a rare start, this his fourth in the league since signing from Borussia Dortmund in January. Out of nowhere Burnley halved the deficit through the substitute ­Lesley Ugochukwu, who headed in on 78 minutes, but a first away point this season proved beyond them.

“Malen! Malen! Malen!” was the chant that rained down from the stands at the final whistle and while these were his first goals of the season and Erling Haaland is fast approaching 20 for club and country, this double felt significant. “It’s important to keep working, whenever you have a chance to be there,” Malen said. “Last season we were in the ­Champions League so we have to push for that again.”

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The mood around Villa this international break will be much better than the last, having headed into September winless and off a shapeless 3-0 home defeat to Crystal Palace. “The last break we had, we were a little bit sad and, of course, now we will carry on working,” Emery said, adding the next fortnight will provide an opportunity to further embed Harvey Elliott, an unused substitute, and Jadon Sancho, who was again absent from the squad, Villa citing illness. A week on from savouring their first league win of the season, Villa Park was a discernibly happier place, the home support providing an early backing track in support of Emery, poised to celebrate his third ­anniversary in charge this month. The Villa manager made four changes from Thursday’s Europa League victory at Feyenoord, Malen among those promoted to the starting lineup with Emiliano Martínez returning in goal after pulling out of the warm-up in the Netherlands.

Before Ugochukwu headed in Quilindschy Hartman’s cross it was apparent Villa’s biggest danger was probably themselves – and so it proved, some slack marking allowing the former Chelsea midfielder to send the ball through the legs of Martínez, who appeared to lose focus. Unsurprisingly, Burnley roused from there but they could not prevent a fifth defeat in six matches in all competitions and they have conceded 15 Premier League goals, one shy of the 16 they conceded across the entire Championship season en route to promotion as runners-up.

This has been a peculiar year for Malen, who was left out of Villa’s Champions League squad a couple of weeks after signing and has struggled to pin down a place in Emery’s side. But against Burnley he showed the clinical streak and cold-blooded finishing that prompted the Villa manager to revisit the club’s interest in the winger. Malen held off Maxime Estève after latching on to Boubacar Kamara’s perfect pass into a gaping hole in the Burnley defence and, off balance, he potted the ball across Martin Dubravka and into the far corner. Cue a gleeful knee slide.

Malen’s second goal, shortly after the hour, was even better, a touch-and-bang finish after reading Morgan Rogers’s cute through ball; Rogers was the catalyst for Villa’s first, too, sidestepping the Burnley captain Josh Cullen and Josh Laurent before locating Kamara 10 yards inside the Villa half. This time Malen composed himself with his first touch and then used the laces of his right boot to blast a shot past Dubravka with his next. “When you switch off in this league, you get punished,” Cullen said.

The only lasting soreness for Villa was felt by Emiliano Buendía. The Argentinian entered midway through the second half in place of Villa’s ­captain John McGinn but was forced off in the 10th minute of added time after the Burnley substitute Zian Flemming caught him in the face with an elbow. After a lengthy stoppage, Buendía was withdrawn, Villa using a concussion substitute. “He is recovering and getting better,” Emery said. “The last month has been very good: draws against Everton, Brentford and Sunderland and now we have won four matches. We have to make Villa Park a fortress again.”

Estève was the only member of the Burnley backline here who was also part of their mean defence last season and their manager, Scott Parker, conceded there was a naivety to his side. The cruise ship-sized gap Kamara spied between Estève and Hartman, which led to the opening goal, an obvious sign that things are still a work in progress. “It’s another brand-new team, it is a brand-new defensive line and we are working tirelessly with that,” said Parker, alluding to the 14 players signed after promotion, six of whom started at Villa, four more arriving from the bench. “We looked a bit young.”