How Emi Buendia didn't let 'rough' Brentford tactics impact Aston Villa display

Brentford clearly tried to throw Aston Villa's Emi Buendia off his game on Saturday.

The 29-year-old entered this weekend's clash with the Bees in strong form.

September saw him net twice in four appearances across all competitions, including the winner in the 3-2 victory over Tottenham.

Buendia is one of Unai Emery's most trusted creative players, and his match-winning ability is no secret to any Premier League coach.

Keith Andrews will have known this too, and the actions of his Bees players towards the Argentine showed an obvious plan to limit his impact.

However, the underlying numbers show that Brentford weren't successful in this pursuit.

What were Brentford doing to Emi Buendia?

Aston Villa saw their two-game winning run in all competitive competitions ended on Saturday, as Brentford held them to a 2-2 draw.

Yehor Yarmoliuk gave the visitors the lead after 10 minutes, but Nicolas Jackson answered instantly with the equaliser two minutes later.

John McGinn looked to have secured three points for Villa on 77 minutes, but Kristoffer Ajer equalised two minutes later.

Buendia started and played 65 minutes against the Bees before being replaced Ibrahim Mbaye, and he was in the wars at Villa Park.

Writing via X, The Athletic's Aston Villa writer Jacob Tanswell made note of the tactics the away side were employing against Villa's number 10.

"Emi Buendia can fight with anyone, but he is getting some rough treatment here," Tanswell said.

When this happens, some players can rise to the challenge and raise their game, whilst others can shrink and go into their proverbial shell.

So, just how much were Brentford targeting Buendia, and what do his numbers say about how he responded to it?

How many times was Buendia fouled vs Brentford?

Typically operating out on the left wing, Emery decided to alter Buendia's role against Brentford.

Moving him into a central attacking midfield role, Buendia was afforded more of an opportunity than normal to pull the strings in attack.

On the flip side, it naturally brought him closer to defenders, and this was reflected in the number of fouls he received.

Per FotMob, Buendia was fouled four times by the Bees, and despite picking up a yellow card, he did very well in terms of how he managed the rest of his afternoon.

He still created two chances, took four shots, made seven recoveries, three tackles and took seven touches in the Brentford box.

Buendia also won seven ground duels as well as his lone aerial duel, whilst also covering 8.5 kilometres which was more than any Villa player at the time of his withdrawal.

With the Villains needing as many players in the trenches as they look to arrest this slow start to the season, Buendia could really evolve into a key leadership role.