Aston Villa secured back-to-back away league victories for the first time since August, defeating Brighton 3-0 at the Amex Stadium. This win also extended Villa’s remarkable run to six consecutive victories in all competitions, marking the longest winning streak under manager Unai Emery.
The visitors started the match with high energy, as Ezri Konsa, John McGinn, and Marcus Rashford all had efforts on goal within the first 20 minutes. Villa’s attacking momentum continued throughout the first half, though they were unlucky not to be awarded a penalty in the 37th minute when Jacob Ramsey was tripped inside the box by Jack Hinshelwood, who was already on a yellow card. Despite strong protests from Villa players, referee Stuart Attwell dismissed the claims, and after a VAR review, the original decision stood.
As the first half drew to a close, Villa goalkeeper Emi MartÃnez made a crucial save, brilliantly tipping a Yasin Ayari free-kick onto the post to keep the score level. In the second half, Villa broke the deadlock in the 51st minute when Marcus Rashford scored his first league goal for the club. The forward latched onto a perfectly weighted long ball from Morgan Rogers and slotted the ball past Brighton’s goalkeeper, Bart Verbruggen.
Brighton thought they had equalized just moments later when Simon Adingra fired in from close range, but VAR intervened, disallowing the goal after it was ruled that Kaoru Mitoma had handled the ball in the build-up.
With Villa holding on to their slim lead, Marco Asensio came off the bench in the 78th minute to seal the victory. The Spanish winger doubled Villa’s advantage, turning in Rogers’ precise cross from the right to make it 2-0. Late in the match, Donyell Malen capped off the commanding performance, firing past Verbruggen from a tight angle to score his first goal for the club and complete the 3-0 win.
