Matty Cash scored just the second time of his career as Aston Villa continued their good start to the season, leaving Burnley still looking for their first point.
Cash justified Unai Emery’s decision to recall him at fullback by scoring twice in the first 20 minutes.
Lyle Foster gave Burnley a lifeline at the start of the second half, but Moussa Diaby’s side foot on the hour saw Villa take the spoils, taking the goal to 12 in three games.
A busy afternoon began when Cash scored his first Villa goal in fifteen months after eight minutes.
And as the visitors continued to spin in the early stages, their unlikely hero traded passes with Diaby to blast home again, matching his doubles for Nottingham Forest against Norwich in 2018.
Matty Cash scored only the second brace of his career, leaving Burnley without a point
Burnley boss Vincent Kompany, with thirteen signings in the transfer window, threw at one of his old guard Johan Berg Gudmundsson at half-time and was rewarded when the Icelander set up Foster to score with his side’s first shot on target.
It brought renewed energy to Turf Moor, but Villa survived attempts at an equalizer for Burnley before Diaby clinically beat James Trafford from the edge of the box.
Only one of Burnley’s starting eleven, defender Connor Roberts, was already at Turf Moor when the manager took office in the summer of 2022.
For the first half they looked like a collection of strangers, with more established players Josh Brownhill, Jack Cork, Jay Rodriguez and Gudmundsson sitting on the bench.
Lyle Foster gave Burnley a lifeline just after the break as he halved the deficit
Burnley had waited 16 days since their last match and Kompany gave defender Hannes Delcroix a debut after signing from Anderlecht.
Robin Olsen was in goal for Villa, while Emi Martinez was missing due to a calf injury.
Villa had scored nine goals in the previous two matches, including a 5–0 Europa Conference victory over Hibs on Thursday night, and they were once again quick at it.
Ollie Watkins darted left to reach John McGinn’s pass and although his clumsy first touch gave Trafford a chance to race out and collect, the England under-21 international faltered.
Watkins took full advantage. As Trafford anticipated a shot, he skillfully hit the ball over the six-yard box, where Cash timed his run perfectly to cross home.
It was Cash’s first Villa goal since scoring against Manchester City on the final day two seasons ago.
After twenty minutes, the Polish international was there again. Villa cut through Burnley’s defence. Cash fed Diaby and then accelerated into the box to collect the return.
When the ball was pushed over the ball, he couldn’t miss from a few yards.
Burnley grimly held on to the half-time whistle without registering a shot on target and then Kompany introduced Gudmundsson’s know-how to Benson.
Within two minutes of the restart, Burnley had scored a goal – their first of the season.
Luca Koloesha caused a panic by running into the Villa defense and Connor Roberts gave Gudmundsson a lead in the penalty area. Lyle Foster did the rest with a nice connection from twelve yards, leaving Olsen clinging into nothingness.
Gudmundsson’s swinging corner kick in the following Burnley attack saw Roberts then cross as noise levels increased dramatically at Turf Moor.
Berge began to gain influence as he pushed further forward and his links with Koleosho caused turmoil in the visiting defence.
With Villa under the cosh, Olsen had to click away a header from Delcroix, which was picked out by a corner from Gudmundsson.
Moussa Diaby completed the job after an hour with Villa’s third goal to give the visitors their second win of the season
The visitors kept a cool head and struck again deadly.
Lucas Digne moved to the left and retired on the edge of the box to Diaby whose first finish nestled accurately into the bottom corner.
Burnley fans got their first glimpse of their latest signing, Aaron Ramsey, when he replaced Berge midway through the second half against the club he left for £14 million last week. Emery responded by also giving a debut from the bench to Italy’s Nicolo Zaniolo.
He had a chance to make an impact early on, but his shot towards the corner went wide.
Villa enjoyed the last 10 minutes and Cash even had a glory attempt at a hat-trick. To be fair it was on target until Trafford tapped away a corner.
More to follow.