Aston Villa grabbed three crucial points as they won 3-0 at Brighton on Wednesday.
MORE – Watch full replay
Marcus Rashford scored in the first half and Marco Asensio and Donyell Malen added late clinchers as Unai Emery’s side were excellent on the counter attack. Brighton dominated vast swathes of the game but Fabian Hurzeler’s side couldn’t find the finishing touch.
With their second-straight win Villa move on to 48 points, jumping ahead of Brighton in the table by one point and Emery’s side are now well in the Champions League hunt.
Winter additions the difference as Villa accelerate
Rashford, Asensio and Malen all joined Villa in the winter window and all three scored as they pulled off a proper smash and grab at Brighton. The Seagulls dominated most of the game but couldn’t break through and Villa showed them how its done. Thanks to their classy trio of additions in the winter transfer window. Having Rashford, Asensio and Malen to rotate into their attack after giving up Jhon Duran looks like being one of the greatest pieces of transfer business in recent memory, as Villa are surging up the table and back in the Champions League hunt as well as being in the FA Cup semifinals and in the last eight of the Champions League. This kind of squad depth, while Brighton struggle with injuries, was the difference in this game. It’s also why Villa look certain to surge up the table late in the season and could end up with a trophy and a spot in the last four, at least, of the Champions League. They aren’t impressing in the run of play all of the time but they’re getting the job done and that is a valuable skill to have regained at the business end of the season.
Brighton vs Aston Villa player ratings (via FotMob.com)
What’s next?
Brighton head to rivals Crystal Palace on Saturday, while Villa host Nottingham Forest in a huge Midlands derby on the same day.
Brighton vs Aston Villa score: 0-3
Rashford 51', Asensio 78', Malen 90 + 10'
Brighton vs Aston Villa live updates! — By Joe Prince-Wright
Malena clinches it in stoppage time — Brighton 0-3 Aston Villa
Right at the end substitute Malen makes it 3-0. Great finishing from Villa’s three January additions tonight.
Villa double their lead against the run of play! — Brighton 0-2 Aston Villa
He jumps off the bench and scores again! Rogers breaks free down the right and pulls it back for Asensio to finish. Villa double their lead and they’ve scored on the counter once again. VAR checked for a possible foul by Watkins but there was nothing substantial there as he and Veltman collided.
Brighton equalize right away... but VAR rules it out
Mitoma knocks the ball down in the box and Martinez can’t gather it. The ball drops to Adingra who is there to finish... but VAR checks and the goal is ruled out for a handball by Mitoma. What a crazy start to the second half!
Rashford has Villa ahead! — Brighton 0-1 Aston Villa
After a counter led by Rogers, lovely finish from a confident Rashford and he celebrates with the away fans behind the goal. Villa are ahead! Rashford is on fire and that is his first Premier League goal for Villa.
Half time: Brighton 0-0 Aston Villa
As expected, very tight and tense so far. Two teams who love to use their pace on the break and have both had chances.
Handball on Ramsey?
VAR checks but no penalty kick is given. A free kick bounces off the post and comes back out and hits Ramsey on the arm, but no penalty kick is awarded. Brighton wanted a pen.
VAR check for a penalty for Villa...
Nothing given. Ramsey goes down as he tries to take on Hinshelwood. Not much contact there but VAR takes a look for a penalty kick. Nothing given. Again. That is the correct call.
Mitoma goes down in the box but nothing is given
Brighton want a pen as Mitoma goes down in the box as he felt a nudge from Cash. But nothing is given. That is the correct decision. Minimal contact there.
Cash smashes over, then Adingra drills just over
First Villa drill just over as Matty Cash smashes a volley inches over. Then there’s a brilliant counter from Brighton and Mitoma sets up Adingra who spanks a shot just over. Villa totally caught out.
Rashford pulls a shot just wide
First chance for Villa as Marcus Rashford gets a yard of space in the box but he pulls his shot wide. He’s in superb form so looks a little disappointed that is off target.
Seagulls pushing for the opener
It has pretty much been all Brighton so far. Villa look dangerous on the counter. But it’s the Seagulls who are looking to play quickly and into the final third.
Brighton lineup
Verbruggen; Hinshelwood, Van Hecke, Dunk, Estupinan; Gomez, Ayari; Adingra, Gruda, Mitoma; Joao Pedro
Aston Villa lineup
Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Torres, Digne; McGinn, Kamara, Tielemans; Rogers, Rashford, Ramsey
Brighton team news, focus
There are plenty of key players missing for Brighton which makes their recent resurgence even more impressive. The Seagulls will start Joao Pedro up top with Kaoru Mitoma and Yankuba Minteh likely to start out wide. An injury to Georginio Rutter could mean Danny Welbeck keeps his spot with Joao Pedro playing just behind him. Brighton basically have an entire team out injured. Just look at the list below...
OUT: Solly March (undisclosed), Joel Veltman (ankle), Adam Webster (thigh), Georginio Rutter (ankle), Mats Wieffer (muscular), Tariq Lamptey (ankle), Igor Julio (hamstring), Jason Steele (shoulder), James Milner (thigh), Ferdi Kadioglu (toe)
Aston Villa team news, focus
Villa continue to rotate their team impressively with Marcus Rashford playing up top as a No. 9 at the weekend and he scored twice against Preston. Morgan Rogers, Jacob Ramsey, Leon Bailey, Marco Asensio, Donyell Malen, and Ollie Watkins are all pushing for starts, with Watkins likely to start up top at Brighton with Rashford playing on the left. The likes of John McGinn and Amadou Onana could come in to midfield too.
OUT: Ross Barkley (calf) | QUESTIONABLE: Leon Bailey (knock)
Brighton vs Aston Villa prediction
This should be a fun game with chances galore as Brighton love to press high and commit players forward but Villa are clinical on the counter. Expect goals and Villa’s extra attacking options to make the difference. Brighton 2-3 Aston Villa.
Brighton vs Aston Villa preview
Fabian Hurzeler’s Brighton are smarting after losing their FA Cup quarterfinal at home to Nottingham Forest on penalty kicks, as the Seagulls were defeated on Saturday after a bruising 120 minutes. Still, Brighton have recovered really well after a mid-season wobble and are within a few points of the Champions League spots heading into the final stretch. They would have taken that at the start of the season and are on a run of four wins from their last five in the Premier League.
Villa are flying in three competitions under Unai Emery as they’re in the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals (against his former club PSG), have reached the FA Cup semifinals after winning at Preston on Sunday and are back in the hunt to finish in the top four of the Premier League. They are among the pack of teams hunting for Champions League qualification and Villa now have so many attacking options after a busy January.
How to watch Brighton vs Aston Villa live, stream link and start time
Kick off time: 2:45pm ET Wednesday (April 2)
Venue: Amex Stadium — Falmer
TV Channel: Peacock
Streaming: Premier League on Peacock
