Aston Villa 3-1 Luton Town: Hosts pick up fifth win in six Premier League games

Aston Villa claimed their fifth win in six Premier League games with a comfortable victory over Luton Town at Villa Park.

Moussa Diaby added a second soon after the break as he drove home from inside the box, and the forward was instrumental in the third.

He used his pace to chase a ball over the top before his cross was turned in by Luton captain Tom Lockyer for an own goal.

Luton never looked like getting anything from the game and failed to manage a shot on goal until the hour mark, when Ross Barkley sent a rising effort from distance well over the bar.

But they did get a consolation late on in unusual circumstances as a header by Villa defender Ezri Konsa bounced back off the bar and in off goalkeeper Emi Martinez.

The win means Villa have an impressive 22 points from 10 Premier League games as they continue their fine form under manager Unai Emery.

Defeat for Luton, meanwhile, leaves them in the relegation zone and one point from safety.

Fortress Villa Park

Teams can often find it difficult to adjust to the quick turnaround between games in Europe and the Premier League, but Aston Villa appear to be thriving on it.

Emery’s side followed a 4-1 thrashing of West Ham last Sunday with a victory by the same scoreline at AZ Alkmaar on Thursday.

And they showed no signs of fatigue as they continued their impressive form at home.

This victory was their 12th in a row at Villa Park, with that run seeing them score 34 goals and conceding just six.

“We always want to score more goals, we want to win with clean sheets,” Emery told BBC Sport.

“The most important [thing] for us is to try and get good performances and try and be consistent and not be under this level of performance for 90 minutes.

“Today was a very important match. We tried to be consistent in our gameplan. We respected them because they won at Everton and drew at Nottingham Forest.”

Toothless Hatters

Luton have been better on the road than at home in the Premier League following promotion, winning at Everton before drawing at Nottingham Forest in their previous outing.

That game at the City Ground saw them battle back from two goals down to earn a point, but a fightback never looked on the cards in this game.

They struggled to create any chances of note against a Villa side in formidable form, particularly at home.

Unfortunately for Luton it does not get any easier with a home game against Liverpool up next, before they travel to Manchester United.

“Villa are an outstanding team who are in a great moment, very confident and very clear in what they want to do. They made it very tough for us, but good learning I would say for us,” Luton boss Rob Edwards said.

“We will come up against teams like this who are in good form, and there were times when we did things well. There are bits for us to learn and improve on.

“This game was never going to define our season, but we have to make sure it makes us better.”