This has been the most damaging week of the Aston Villa season. A shock home defeat to Olympiacos, followed by an exhausting defeat at Brighton, has put their competitive and European ambitions in serious jeopardy.
Joao Pedro’s late goal made the difference in the scoreline, but the difference in performance was the start, with Roberto De Zerbi’s side fully deserving the win.
The goal, scored on the rebound after the excellent Robin Olsen had saved the initial effort, was the first goal scored by Brighton since Danny Welbeck’s strike at Anfield on March 31.
A win here would have made Villa’s return to Europe’s top competition for the first time in 42 years all but assured, when Peter Withe’s shin was enough to beat Bayern Munich 1-0 in the European Cup final.
But their place remains in doubt, as does this season’s run in the Europa Conference League, following a 2-4 home defeat to Olympiakos in the first leg of the Semi-Fina. Emery made just two changes to that squad for the trip to East Sussex, with Pau Torres and Diego Carlos returning to the starting line-up, a decision he may now regret.
Joao Pedro scored the winner for Brighton against Aston Villa via the rebound after a penalty
Joao Pedro’s goal meant that Aston Villa, which is aiming for a place in the top four, suffered a defeat
Brighton’s Pascal Gross had a goal disallowed for offside as his side defeated Aston Villa
Gross thought he had given Brighton the lead, but the goal was disallowed after a VAR check
It meant Emery was still without the injured Emi Martinez, so Olsen took his place again, with Emery admitting that “it’s not easy to replace the best goalkeeper in the world.” However, Olsen was the best performer in a disappointing Villa performance.
A first-ever Champions League qualification would do much to take away the disappointment of the knockout in Piraeus next Thursday, but Villa looked as if the first leg had seen them out of the closet here.
It was Brighton, and especially Simon Adingra, who were by far the better side. Adingra had the first shot of the match, cutting in from the left and then tamely firing home for Olsen to gather. Five minutes later, Adingra had a more powerful effort, which pulled Olsen to safety.
There were a handful of empty seats at Amex, which are normally occupied, perhaps reflecting the fact that the Seagulls took just two points from the last 18, a run that has seen their season finish mid-table.
Roberto De Zerbi’s side had the better of the early substitutions and almost took the lead when Welbeck – starting his 200th Premier League game – struck Billy Gilmour’s corner with his shoulder and the ball went narrowly over.
The most entertaining sight of the half was Emery’s gestures as he walked relentlessly around his technical area. He left no doubt in the Fourth Official’s mind about his views on a challenge against Leon Bailey and also offered Stuart Attwell his jersey in protest at Ollie Watkins not being awarded a free-kick for pulling his shirt. Emery was dealt a blow when Morgan Rogers was forced off with an injury after 25 minutes, requiring a reshuffle with Matty Cash to replace him.
Watkins – or any Villa striker for that matter – saw little of the ball in the first half, but the England striker did have a nice ball movement to take it away from Lewis Dunk and into the Brighton penalty area before being dispossessed.
It was a game with few chances, but Brighton had a whole series of chances just before half time. First Welbeck played in Adingra, who collided with Olsen as the Villa keeper rushed off his line to collect the ball. Ivorian winger Adingra then picked up a cross from Joao Pedro, but failed to make a solid connection at the far post.
Aston Villa manager Unai Emery was left frustrated after his top four hopefuls dropped points
Villa were dejected at the final whistle as Emery’s team had endured a difficult week
The Brighton players cheer on the club’s supporters after securing victory against Aston Villa
Eventually, the exuberant Adingra picked out Pascal Gross, who appeared to round Olsen before the Swedish keeper made an excellent recovery to save his shot.
Villa had more aim after the break but were again indebted to Olsen as he denied Joao Pedro at one point after Adingra had once again entered the field from his left wing to wreak havoc.
The chances piled up for Brigfhton and another came and went when substitute Julio Enciso fired over when well placed after John McGinn had missed his clearance.
The Amex erupted when Gross hit Igor Julio’s cross at the near post but it was disallowed after a lengthy VAR check and frustrations mounted.
Julio Enciso goes in goal for Brighton during their win at home to Aston Villa
Eleven minutes before the end the same situation took place on the other side. Bailey blocked Adingra’s attempted pass and the ball fell straight to John McGinn, who fired the ball home before VAR overturned the offside decision on the pitch.
With the game in the final ten minutes, Welbeck went close with a looping header from Enciso’s cross before Jones pointed to the spot after Ezri Konsa teed up Adingra following a one-two with Joao Pedro.
Joao Pedro stepped up and saw his effort brilliantly saved by Olsen on his right, but he reacted quickly to head home the rebound.
