Unai Emery was a proud man after Aston Villa left Brentford with all three points in the Premier League on Saturday.
The visitors edged a goalless first half, enjoying more possession and shots, before taking the lead shortly after the interval via Ollie Watkins.
A quickfire second was ruled out by VAR before Villa showed all their battling qualities to keep the hosts at bay in the time that remained.
“I’m very proud of the players,” Emery said.
“We planned this match as a key [game] because we’re not going to play in the Premier League for the next 25 days.
“We’re going to play in the Champions League and then it’s the break. We’re coming back with the FA Cup and then Brighton is our next match in the Premier League to try to feel comfortable, confident and believing in our way.
“It was very important to compete today like we did in Bruges and try to get those three points, knowing the difficulties we were facing.
“We did a fantastic job in the first half. We dominated, created chances and played wishing to win. We didn’t concede a lot to them and in the second half we scored one goal and then a second goal, but VAR refused it.
“After it, they were progressively dominating more and pushing us to defend in a low block, and we needed the goalkeeper. Robin Olsen was fantastic today and the back four did a great job.
“We had some transitions as well, like with Ollie Watkins, to score the second goal, but how we competed today, how we imposed our game plan and how we won the duels was like how we planned before.”
Robin Olsen came in for his first Premier League start of the season in goal and kept the team’s fourth clean sheet of the campaign.
The defensive display was a crucial factor in earning a third straight victory in all competitions.
Emery said: “It was very important to win through a clean sheet and feel confidence with the goalkeeper and the block defensively.
“The supporters of Aston Villa were helping us and I’m thankful for their support and how they are enjoying the way.
“They are competing with us as well to get good emotions and to feel together.”
