Aston Villa 2-2 Burnley: Clarets twice come from behind to earn draw at Villa Park

Jay Rodriguez's thumping header was his first league goal for Burnley since rejoining the club this summer

Aston Villa boss Dean Smith says his side do not have a "mental block" about going ahead after they twice let the lead slip to draw with Burnley at Villa Park.

The Villans went ahead when Anwar El Ghazi swept home Frederic Guilbert's cross in the first half before Jay Rodriguez equalised early in the second.

John McGinn then restored their lead, firing home from Trezeguet's cross, after the break, only for Chris Wood to restore parity shortly afterwards to ensure the points were shared.

Smith's side have now dropped a league-high eight points from winning positions this season, having led against Tottenham, Arsenal and the Clarets.

"There is no mental block, that is for sure, we have dominated a team that some struggle to play against," he said.

"There is a confidence and belief in the players - even after their second equaliser there was one team who were going to win it, it was going to be us.

"I think Burnley will go home with what they came for, we saw from the first minute how long it took them to take goal-kicks, they wanted to stop our rhythm."

The hosts were the better side for much of the first half and could have gone ahead early on when Conor Hourihane saw his free-kick strike the upright, while McGinn had earlier seen his tap-in ruled out for offside by the video assistant referee.

But Burnley held firm and could have opened the scoring themselves when Dwight McNeil's free-kick crashed against the crossbar.

The second half was a more even affair as the game's intensity was affected by regular breaks for players to receive treatment which eventually saw seven minutes of injury time.

But Wood had the final say as his third goal in two league games saw Burnley claim their third consecutive away draw in the Premier League.

Dean Smith's side remain 18th while the Clarets slip to 10th.

• As it happened: Aston Villa 2-2 Burnley

• Live reaction to this afternoon's Premier League action

Villa let lead slip again

Before Burnley's visit to Villa Park, Villa had dropped a league-high six points from winning positions, having let leads slip against Tottenham on the opening day of the season and Arsenal last week.

So perhaps it is unsurprising that they twice surrendered the lead against a relentless Burnley side - despite Smith's claim that his side do not suffer from a mental block when in front.

The Villans were good for their half-time lead, which was handed to them when El Ghazi finished off a fine free-flowing counter attack involving McGinn and Guilbert.

But they should have made their first-half dominance count for more.

McGinn headed over from close range in the opening exchanges before he swept home Hourihane's low cross, only for VAR to correctly intervene as the Irishman was in an offside position when he received the ball from Jack Grealish.

Villa's captain was then denied by Burnley keeper Nick Pope as the first half drew to a close but the chances dried up in the second half as they struggled to maintain the same intensity throughout.

"It's a game we should have won - we dominated for large periods, we had enough chances to win the game and restricted them to few chances," Smith told BBC Match of the Day.

A further irritation for Smith will be that he lost Matt Targett and El Ghazi to injury in the second half, with both players needing to be replaced.

"Matt Targett played really well and we're hoping it's cramp more than anything else. It was always a risk playing him two games in a row but he played really well," Smith told Villa's website.

"El Ghazi will be fine - he just had a clash with their guy and caught one in the face and had to come off."

Never-say-die Clarets fight back

While Sean Dyche's Burnley have not made an eye-catching start to their 2019-20 Premier League campaign, they sat on eight points from their opening six games - the same total as Tottenham and Manchester United.

That total represents a very solid start to the campaign for the Clarets, especially considering they have already travelled to Arsenal and faced leaders Liverpool at home.

And in a word, solid sums up their performance at Villa Park.

They managed to weather the storm in the first half, and they more than matched the hosts in the second half.

Rodriguez, who came on at half-time for the injured Jack Cork, did well to get in-between two defenders to head home Erik Pieters' cross for their equaliser.

And they could have had a couple more in the second half as Jeff Hendrick blasted over from close range while Ben Mee headed into the side netting from a corner.

But the fact that Wood's powerful header from Matthew Lowton's cross came just one minute and 32 seconds after McGinn's goal will please Dyche no end as it illustrates the Clarets' never-say-die attitude perfectly.

Man of the match - John McGinn (Aston Villa)

Livewire John McGinn (left) was at the heart of everything good for the Villans. The Scotland international was particularly impressive in the first half but he got his just rewards for his hard work in the second, when he briefly put his side on course for victory

'Our desire was outstanding' - what they said

Burnley boss Sean Dyche: "The will, desire and mentality was outstanding again. There are never any disappointments with this group and we delivered a good second-half performance.

"It was a game of four great crosses and four great finishes. Overall it was a good spectacle, but not as a manager when you see some of the things going on with your team."

Aston Villa manager Dean Smith: "We knew the dangers Burnley posed. We dealt with them well in the first half and we dominated in the first half. It was probably our best first-half performance of the season.

"We started the second half scrappy and sloppy. But our response to their goal was good. We took the game by the scruff of the neck.

"It was a great bit of work by Trezeguet for John [McGinn]'s goal, which was a goal his performance deserved. But to concede so soon after that goal was criminal. I believe they probably came for the draw and will be happy they've come away with the draw."

Leaky Burnley fail to keep clean sheet again - the stats

• Aston Villa have already dropped eight points from winning positions in the Premier League this season, more than any other side.

• Burnley have lost only one of their last nine top-flight meetings with Aston Villa (W3 D5 L1).

• Burnley are without a clean sheet in their last 11 Premier League away games, since a goalless draw with Watford in January.

• Anwar El Ghazi has netted two goals in his last three home league games for Aston Villa, as many as he scored in his previous 17 at Villa Park (including play-offs).

• Jay Rodriguez scored for Burnley in the league for the first time in 2758 days, since netting for the Clarets against Crystal Palace in the Championship on 10 March 2012.

• Chris Wood has scored three goals in his last two Premier League games for Burnley, after failing to find the back of the net in the nine before that.

Next up

Next up for the Villans is a trip to Carrow Road to face fellow Premier League newcomers Norwich City next Saturday (15:00 BST), while the Clarets host Everton the same day (also 15:00).