Marcus Rashford opened the scoring for Aston Villa
Marcus Rashford opened the scoring for Aston Villa
Aston Villa secured consecutive away league wins for the first time since August after defeating Brighton 3-0 at the Amex Stadium.
The victory marks Villa’s sixth successive win in all competitions, the longest winning streak under Unai Emery.
Villa started brightly, with Ezri Konsa, John McGinn, and Marcus Rashford all registering efforts in the first 20 minutes.
Jacob Ramsey was denied a penalty in the 37th minute despite being tripped in the box by Jack Hinshelwood, who was already on a booking.
Referee Stuart Attwell waved away Villa’s appeals, and after a VAR review, the decision was upheld.
Emi Martínez produced a superb save at the end of the first half, tipping Yasin Ayari’s free-kick onto the post.
Marcus Rashford netted his first league goal for Villa in the 51st minute, latching onto Morgan Rogers’ long ball and finishing past Bart Verbruggen.
Brighton thought they had equalized moments later when Simon Adingra fired in from close range, but VAR ruled the goal out after Kaoru Mitoma was judged to have handled the ball in the build-up.
Marco Asensio came off the bench to make sure of the victory as he doubled the lead in the 78th minute by turning in Rogers' cross from the right.
Donyell Malen completed the scoring for Villa late on by firing past Verbruggen at an angle to score his first for the club.
Player ratings
Emi Martinez
Martinez made a few routine saves before tipping the ball onto the post to prevent Brighton from taking the lead before the break. It was a top save. 8
Matty Cash
Cash produced a perfect cross to Konsa in the box early on, but the defender's header was saved by Bart Verbruggen. In the 28th minute, he recovered well after ball-watching when Kaoru Mitoma sprinted behind him and drove into the box. No penalty was awarded, and rightly so. 8
Ezri Konsa
Brighton's Joao Pedro is a tricky customer, hard to pick up in and around the box. His clever movement caused some problems for Villa, but Konsa contained him well. 8
Pau Torres
Torres made his first start since suffering a broken metatarsal in Villa's 2-2 draw with Brighton back in late December. He used the ball well and helped Villa retain possession. 8
Lucas Digne
The left-back found McGinn in the box in the ninth minute with an excellent delivery, but the Scot's header went wide. 8
Boubacar Kamara
Kamara got stuck in from the get-go, winning tackles and putting out fires throughout. He floated a brilliant pass into Rashford's path in the 12th minute, but the Manchester United loanee fired wide. What a player. 9*
Youri Tielemans
The Belgian looked to make things happen in the first half, but his teammates weren't quite on the same wavelength. He knitted play together in the second half as Villa played their way out of pressure. Replaced just after the hour mark. 7
John McGinn
The skipper returned to the starting XI and operated off the right. He contributed to the attack but, crucially, broke into space at the right moments. He guided a header wide of the front post early on. Excellent showing from McGinn. 8
Morgan Rogers
Apart from one typical bulldozing run early on, he was on the periphery in the first half as Villa used the left side more before the interval. He showed his quality in the second half when he pinged a long ball over the top of the Brighton defence to find Rashford running into space. He also set up Asensio's goal. A scary talent. 8
Jacob Ramsey
Ramsey did well to drag Hinshelwood into areas that allowed Rashford to exploit space in behind. I have no clue how he wasn’t awarded a penalty after being tripped by Hinshelwood in the box towards the end of the first half. 7
Marcus Rashford
Rashford continued up front with Watkins starting on the bench. He bagged his first league goal since joining Villa by racing through on a counter-attack and beating Verbruggen. 8
SUBS
Amadou Onana (for Tielemans, 66'): Onana impressed after being introduced off the bench for compatriot Tielemans. 7
Marco Asensio (for Ramsey, 66'): Absolute quality. No doubt he would stroke that ball into the far corner to extend Villa's lead. 8
Ollie Watkins (for Rashford, 66'): Watkins worked hard in the 30 minutes he had on the pitch. 7
Axel Disasi (for Cash, 81'): Stood strong in the box. 7
Donyell Malen (for Rogers, 88'): Scored his first for the club late on - capped a perfect win! 8
Subs not used: Olsen, Mings, Maatsen, Garcia.
GOALS
Brighton: N/A
Aston Villa: Rashford (51'), Asensio (78'), Malen (90+10')
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