 In his first full season with Villa , Bent scored his first goal of the season against Blackburn Rovers in a 3 – 1 victory on 20 August 2011 . In his first match against former club Sunderland , a 2 – 2 draw at the Stadium of Light on 29 October 2011 , every time he received a touch on the ball he was booed by the home support . Bent then suffered an injury during the match against Bolton Wanderers and was out for the next few matches as a result . Bent caused controversy when a fan posted a picture and claimed the striker was out shopping while his teammates were losing 2 – 0 to Liverpool . It was later revealed Bent had been sent home to recover from his injury and afterwards he apologised to the Villa fans for his actions . After apologising , manager Alex McLeish reacted angrily to the " conspiracy theory " over Bent 's absence for Villa . This led to Bent having to deny a fall @-@ out with McLeish . Bent made his return as a 78th @-@ minute substitute in the match against Chelsea on 31 December 2011 , scoring the third goal to seal a 3 – 1 win at Stamford Bridge . After not scoring in the next two matches , Bent went on a run by scoring in the next four matches for Villa , including his first FA Cup goal in a Villa shirt on 29 January 2012 , against Arsenal in an eventual 3 – 2 defeat . Three days later , Bent scored his 100th Premier League goal as Villa came from behind to earn a 2 – 2 home draw against Queens Park Rangers . He was the 21st player to reach the milestone . 
