Aston Villa and Brighton & Hove Albion shared the spoils in a fiercely contested 2-2 draw at Villa Park, with both sides battling hard for a point in an entertaining clash. The teams remain neck-and-neck in the Premier League standings, separated by just one place and two points—a parity that was evident throughout the match as they proved evenly matched across the board.
Villa, still reeling from their heavy defeat to Newcastle, seemed to carry that frustration into this fixture when Simon Adingra struck early to give Brighton the lead. However, the hosts clawed their way back into the game when Ollie Watkins calmly converted a penalty after a lengthy VAR review deemed Joao Pedro had fouled Morgan Rogers in the box. The decision came only moments after Villa had another penalty claim waved away, adding to the drama.
Buoyed by the equaliser, Unai Emery’s side came out strong after the break and took the lead through Rogers, who finished clinically into the bottom corner following a well-worked move with Watkins. At that point, Villa looked in control and poised to claim all three points.
However, Brighton refused to lie down. The introduction of Kaoru Mitoma and Georginio Rutter injected fresh energy into the Seagulls, and it paid off late in the game. Mitoma’s creativity helped set up Tariq Lamptey, who unleashed a stunning strike to level the score with just under 10 minutes remaining.
For Brighton, the draw extends their winless streak to seven matches, but manager Fabian Hurzeler will take heart from his side’s spirited second-half comeback. Conversely, Villa and Emery may see this result as a missed opportunity, particularly after Watkins squandered a late chance to secure a dramatic winner with the last kick of the game.
