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Aston Villa and Brighton and Hove Albion both walked away with a hard-fought point following an eventful 2-2 draw at Villa Park.
Just one spot in the table and two points separates the two teams and that closeness was clear to see throughout the game, as both sides looked equally matched across all fronts.
Villa’s misery from the resounding loss to Newcastle looked like it might carry over into this fixture following Simon Adingra’s early opener, only for Ollie Watkins to score from the penalty spot to level proceedings.
The hosts were awarded the spot-kick – following a lengthy VAR review – after Joao Pedro kicked the back of Morgan Rogers’ legs in the box, just moments after the Villa forward saw a separate claim waved away.
Momentum was with Unai Emery’s side following the equaliser and they quickly made it count after the break through Rogers, who tucked a shot neatly into the bottom corner after linking up with Watkins.
The game looked to be petering out until the introduction of Kaoru Mitoma and Georginio Rutter sparked Brighton into life, with the former playing a major role in Tariq Lamptey’s stunner that levelled the game with under 10-minutes to go.
Brighton’s winless run now extends to seven games with the draw but Fabian Hurzeler will likely take positives from the performance after witnessing his side battle back in the second half.
Meanwhile, Emery and his Villa side might view this one as two points dropped instead of just one gained, especially after seeing Watkins’ late effort sail over the bar with virtually the last kick of the game.
Emery: One point is not enough
Aston Villa boss Unai Emery:
“The point was not enough. How we started was a big mistake but we corrected it and progressively got better.
“The second half we started very well and didn’t concede a lot. They tried to get something more and they did. We were pushing and had the last chance with Ollie Watkins. I think we deserved to win.
“Sometimes it is not enough. We have to be proud of everything we did. We have to try start again to improve thing.”
Hurzeler: We deserved more
Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler:
“When you come back you should be happy but we deserved more. We were the better team and created better chances. We controlled the first 25 minutes but conceded an easy goal.
Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler on the sidelines as his team drew 2-2 with Aston Villa
“We lost the momentum and after half-time we were not intense enough, then we concede another easy goal. The reaction was impressive.
“There were two big, big chances. When you come back it is good but we deserve much more.”
Watkins stakes claim to start
Sky Sports’ Patrick Rowe:
Regardless of the late equaliser, Watkins staked his claim for the starting striker role against Brighton.
The England international returned to the Villa starting line-up for the first time in three Premier League games following Jhon Duran’s suspension and made it count.
He had scored more goals against Brighton than any other team heading into this fixture and raised this tally to seven with his penalty in the first half.
Ollie Watkins’ numbers for Aston Villa vs Brighton
Last season’s winner of the Playmaker of the Season award had these credentials on full display shortly after the restart with the assist to Rogers too.
Celebrating his 29th birthday on the day, Watkins got the perfect present in possibly winning his starting spot in the line-up back with this performance, but it will be slightly marred by the late chances he was unable to convert.
Villa have two top-level strikers competing for the role and it seems to be getting the best out of both of them when they are on the field.
Seagulls stalling in European bid under Hurzeler
Sky Sports’ David Richardson:
Brighton’s promising start under Fabian Hurzeler has faded and their European qualification hopes will be dependent on turning draws into wins.
Their point at Aston Villa means they’ve failed to win any of their last seven league games for the first time since April 2022 under Graham Potter.
Fulham are the only side to drop more points (19) from winning positions this season than Brighton, who have now drawn nine times.
After an outlay of almost £200m in the summer, the pressure is increasing on Hurzeler to improve in the second half of the season.
Story of the match in stats…
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