Aston Villa’s Premier League top-four hopes suffered a big blow as they threw away a two-goal lead to draw 3-3 against Brentford, who scored three times in nine minutes.

Villa looked to be consolidating fourth position after goals either side of half-time from Ollie Watkins and Morgan Rogers put them in the ascendency.

But they hit the self-destruct button as quickfire strikes from Mathias Jorgensen, Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa saw Brentford turn the game on its head.

The hosts had to rally and a Watkins header rescued a point, but the result handed the impetus to Tottenham in the race for guaranteed Champions League qualification.

Spurs, who are three points behind in fifth, play relegation threatened Nottingham Forest on Sunday and also have a game in hand.

The draw means Brentford’s winless run extends to nine games and they will see this as a chance missed.

After an even opening, Villa almost took the lead midway through the first half when Lucas Digne’s inswinging corner was clawed away by Bees goalkeeper Mark Flekken.

An opener came in the 39th minute as Watkins grabbed his 23rd goal in all competitions and 16th in the league.

John McGinn, back after a three-game ban, floated in an inviting cross which Watkins headed down towards goal.

Flekken scrambled to scoop the ball away and Leon Bailey followed it in, but the goal decision system showed Watkins’ header had crossed the line.

Villa doubled their lead 32 seconds after the restart as Rogers opened his Villa account in style.

The January signing from Middlesbrough picked up a Youri Tielemans pass, weaved into the area and found the bottom corner.

The game appeared done but Brentford stunned their hosts with three goals in nine minutes.

They got themselves back in it just before the hour, but goalscorer Jorgensen did not know too much about it.

The defender completely missed his kick from Mikkel Damsgaard’s ball across goal, but it hit his standing foot and wrong-footed Emi Martinez.

The tension inside the stadium was palpable and 121 seconds later the Bees were level as Mbeumo volleyed home Sergio Reguilon’s cross from the left.

The remarkable turnaround was complete in the 68th minute as Reguilon was again the provider, squaring for Wissa to convert the easiest of tap-ins.

Suddenly Villa were mounting a rescue act in a game they thought they had already won.

And it took them 12 minutes to get back level as Watkins nodded home Bailey’s deflected cross after Flekken had come to claim it but missed it.

They threw everything forward in search of a winner, with Digne’s acrobatic effort going over, but they could not find a winner and dropped two points.

Inspired Max O’Leary performance earns point for Bristol City at Sunderland

Max O’Leary was Bristol City’s goalkeeping hero as they claimed a goalless draw with Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.

O’Leary made a series of superb first-half saves as Liam Manning’s side claimed their third clean sheet in a row.

Adil Aouchiche and Bradley Dack both hit the crossbar as Sunderland turned in a much-improved display from the Bank Holiday battering at the hands of Blackburn.

However, the Black Cats were unable to find a way past an inspired O’Leary and have now won just one of their last nine matches as their season peters out.

Sunderland were the better side from the outset, displaying a much greater degree of intensity and aggression than they had displayed in their 5-1 home defeat to Blackburn at the start of the week.

Dan Ballard thought he had claimed a ninth-minute opener when he headed goalwards after a corner was nodded back across goal, but O’Leary did superbly to claw the ball away.

Sunderland threatened again three minutes later, only for Aouchiche to stab wide from inside the area after Dan Neil’s blocked shot rebounded invitingly into his path.

Jack Clarke was back in the home side’s starting line-up for the first time in more than a month after recovering from an ankle injury and the winger went close midway through the first half as he fired in a side-footed strike that was parried by O’Leary.

The Bristol City goalkeeper was in inspired form for much of the afternoon, producing a brilliant double-save to ensure the scoresheet remained blank shortly after the half-hour mark.

His first save prevented Jobe Bellingham from firing home from inside the area and he then produced an even better stop to keep out Clarke’s follow-up effort.

Two minutes later and O’Leary was at it again. This time it was Neil who was denied initially, with the Robins keeper parrying the midfielder’s shot, and when Aouchiche nodded the rebound towards goal, O’Leary displayed superb reflexes to touch the ball onto the crossbar.

Bristol City had not threatened at all at that stage, but the visitors finally recorded their first effort at goal in first-half stoppage time.

Anthony Patterson parried Nakhi Wells’ angled shot and Scott Twine’s follow-up effort would have gone in had a backtracking Luke O’Nien not produced a crucial block from just in front of the goal-line.

Patterson was called into action again in the early stages of the second half, saving from Matty James after Haydon Roberts nodded a free-kick back across goal, but with the wind swirling around the Stadium of Light, neither side was especially fluent as they pressed to try to force a breakthrough.

That said, however, Sunderland came within inches of claiming a winner with 17 minutes left. Neil flicked on Trai Hume’s cross, enabling substitute Dack to power in a diving header that cannoned off the underside of the crossbar before rebounding to safety.

Stephy Mavididi scores crucial winner for promotion-chasing Leicester

Stephy Mavididi’s late header saw Leicester regain control of the race for promotion from the Championship and condemn relegation-threatened Birmingham to a 2-1 defeat.

Gary Rowett’s men appeared on course to claim what would have been a precious point in their battle for survival after leading goalscorer Jay Stansfield cancelled out Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s opener.

But just as Enzo Maresca’s side looked set to pay the price for their profligacy, Mavididi ensured a dominant performance at the King Power Stadium did not go to waste as the hosts climbed back into top spot.

Both under pressure for completely different reasons, neither the Foxes nor the visitors looked overawed by the occasion.

But it was the attacking prowess of Maresca’s side which enabled them to dominate the opening exchanges, with John Ruddy making a save to deny Dewsbury-Hall and Patson Daka’s pace causing all manner of problems.

Although Blues were losing the battle for territory and possession, they still carried a threat.

Koji Miyoshi tested Mads Hermansen’s handling with a low angled drive before the hosts finally engineered a 28th-minute breakthrough. On target for the second time in as many outings, it was Dewsbury-Hall who produced the finish.

But Blues were the architects of their own downfall, failing to clear Abdul Fatawu’s cross into the area before Daka touched the ball into his team-mate’s path.

Only a tendency to over-elaborate in advanced positions prevented Leicester from establishing a healthier lead before the break.

That came back to bite them in the 45th minute when Hermansen, taking an age to clear his lines after receiving the ball from Wout Faes, saw his kick charged down by Stansfield and fly into the net.

As the hosts regained their composure, substitute James Justin saw an appeal for a penalty waved away by referee David Webb following a tangle with Miyoshi.

Moments after being introduced on the hour mark, Jamie Vardy was left frustrated when Wilfred Ndidi could have found him on the edge of the six-yard box but elected to take an extra touch instead.

With Leicester inexplicably failing to regain the advantage, Ethan Laird nearly fired Blues into a surprise lead when he drifted across the penalty box and flashed a shot just wide of Hermansen’s far post.

Leicester continued to press but, as the contest wore on, so their profligacy increased with Ndidi and Fatawu both guilty of wasting promising openings.

Lee Buchanan made a crucial interception to stop Vardy turning home following a scramble in front of Ruddy, who moments earlier thwarted Mavididi with a fine reaction block.

But Mavididi was not to be denied in the 87th minute when, having been left unmarked, he headed substitute Yunus Akgun’s centre back across goal and past Ruddy.