Neal Maupay was the hero once again for Brentford as his curling stoppage-time winner ensured Dean Smith's return to Griffin Park was an unhappy one.

It was a deserved 1-0 victory for the Bees, who had enjoyed roughly 60 per cent possession and created a hatful of chances against a Villa side which struggled to demonstrate a cutting edge.

However, the hosts' dominance looked to be for nothing until Maupay popped up with his 18th league strike of the campaign to maintain their unbeaten record against the Birmingham outfit since their relegation from the Premier League.

All the talk prior to kick-off was about the reception Smith would receive on his first return to Griffin Park since leaving last October.

He was greeted warmly by a home faithful appreciative of the way the 47-year-old had guided the club to three top-10 finishes, but his team were in for a rude awakening as the west Londoners made a fast start.

Only Nottingham Forest had scored more first goals than the Bees in the Championship this season and their newfound confidence was shining through and visiting goalkeeper Lovre Kalinic had to be alert to tip over Sergi Canos' awkward volley.

The tricky Said Benrahma was in the thick of the action and while Brentford were creating numerous chances, they did not show their clinical edge.

Villa's first shot in anger came in the 27th minute, with Anwar El Ghazi finding himself in space 25 yards out but the Dutchman's rasping effort well dealt with home goalkeeper Daniel Bentley.

Benrahma had a glorious chance to break the deadlock eight minutes later, but managed to screw the ball wide despite being under no pressure from Canos' cut-back.

Brentford were struggling to capitalise on their dominance and could easily have gone behind just before the break when Albert Adomah evaded the attentions of Moses Odubajo before rolling the ball agonisingly wide of Bentley's right-hand post.

Efforts from John McGinn and El Ghazi saw Villa threaten briefly soon after the interval, but this soon gave way to more Brentford dominance.

Canos showed impressive composure to find Maupay, who fashioned a one-on-one before blazing over horribly.

Ollie Watkins was then denied by Kalinic before there were shouts for a penalty following what seemed like a nudge in Romain Sawyers' back.

Villa could have undone all Brentford's hard work when a swift break saw Ahmed Elmohamady surge down the right flank and play in the onrushing Conor Hourihane, whose shot deflected off the spread-eagled Bentley and over.

It was looking as if Smith's men would hold firm for a second successive clean sheet away from home.

However, Maupay would end those hopes and send the home fans wild as he wriggled into the box and fired into the top corner to leave Kalinic rooted to the spot.