Analysis: Lewis-Potter showcases England credentials with impressive Aston Villa display | OneFootball

Aston Villa edged a 1-0 win against Brentford at Gtech Community Stadium on Saturday evening in a game full of ifs, buts and maybes for the Bees.

The home side finished with a higher possession share (59.9 per cent), more shots (13) and a far superior pass completion rate (86 per cent) than Unai Emery's side, but were undone by former Bees Ollie Watkins' deflected 49th-minute matchwinner.

Afterwards, Brentford manager Thomas Frank bemoaned several situations that didn't go his side's way - including two presentable penalty shouts - while conceding that his side lacked "the killing touch on the night".

Although they created plenty of promising attacking situations, the closest the west Londoners came to an equaliser was a Keane Lewis-Potter strike 20 minutes from time, as the versatile wide-man's thudding low drive ricocheted to safety off Robin Olsen's right-hand post.

Converted into an industrious, attack-minded left-back this season, Lewis-Potter is currently in the best form of his Brentford career - and another impressive display against the Villans could have placed him even more firmly on the radar of new England manager Thomas Tuchel.

Lewis-Potter was an ever-present option for Brentford on Saturday as they pushed for an equaliser against Villa, with the Bees' most promising moments coming in the main down the left side, where the 24-year-old linked up fabulously with Mikkel Damsgaard, Kevin Schade and Yoane Wissa.

Rather ironically, given his brush with the woodwork at the weekend, Lewis-Potter has the best shot-on-target percentage in the entire Brentford squad this season - 13 of his 26 efforts on goal making the opposing keeper work.

This actually puts him in the top 20 most accurate shooters in the top flight, along with Bryan Mbeumo (47.3 per cent). The Bees presently top this statistic with an overall SoT percentage of 40.1 per cent.

The former England Under-21 international has noticeably grown in confidence this season and his ability to ping a long raking pass has come increasingly to the fore, his five accurate long balls (from six attempts) against Villa putting him clear of any other outfield player on the pitch.

Four clearances and two interceptions against Emery's men were proof that Lewis-Potter was typically diligent and capable in his defensive duties; his ability to adapt to a new role and excel at both ends of the pitch has been a credit to his attitude, talent and dedication this season.

In the context of his season as a whole, Lewis-Potter’s capacity to juggle the multi-faceted role of a modern-day full-back has been readily apparent.

Ranked behind only Mbeumo (107) and Damsgaard (96) for shot-creating actions in the Brentford squad in the Premier League this season, Lewis-Potter (58) adds genuine attacking quality in the final third, while his 22 possession-winning tackles for the Bees is currently only bettered by Christian Nørgaard (38) and Damsgaard (37).

There are few English left-backs currently performing at Lewis-Potter's level and the Bees will hope he continues to flourish over the remaining 10 games of the 2024/25 season.