Football Dec 07, 2025

Brighton 3-4 Aston Villa: Visitors come from two goals down to win seven-goal thriller to move third in Premier League

👤
By Admin
Sports Journalist
Brighton 3-4 Aston Villa: Visitors come from two goals down to win seven-goal thriller to move third in Premier League

Aston Villa came from two goals down to edge a chaotic seven-goal thriller at Brighton, with their 4-3 win sending them third in the Premier League.

Villa suffered a nightmare start on the south coast as an error from goalkeeper Marco Bizot - a late replacement for Emiliano Martinez - and Pau Torres' own goal saw Brighton go 2-0 up after 29 minutes.

But Ollie Watkins' double, which ended his 11-game goal drought, sensationally brought Villa level before half-time.

Villa completed the comeback through Amadou Onana's 60th-minute header before substitute Donyell Malen scored with his first touch to give Villa a two-goal lead in the 78th minute.

But Brighton threatened a comeback of their own as Jan Paul van Hecke scored his second of the game just five minutes later.

Bizot then atoned for his mistake for Van Hecke's opener with a fine stoppage-time save to deny Brighton substitute Danny Welbeck and ensure Villa held on for a sixth straight win in all competitions.

The dramatic victory moves Unai Emery's side six points off leaders Arsenal, whom they face on Saturday at Villa Park.

Brighton, who suffered a first home defeat this season, drop to seventh but will have the chance to bounce back on Sunday as they host West Ham, live on SportNews.

Aston Villa's Ollie Watkins speaking to SportNews:

"I think since the managers come in, I've scored a lot of goals, and got assists. Always find myself playing regularly in the team.

"So to go a prolonged period without scoring and doing that, it does affect you. It has been hard, but you have to just keep picking yourself up, turning up every day, and working hard.

"You get your rewards in the end and and now I can put that behind me and keep looking forward.

"We're in an amazing place. Even though I wasn't scoring, I looked at the bigger picture where we're further in the league.

"Winning every week, what isn't there to love, really? So if I can add goals, it gets even better."

Aston Villa boss Unai Emery speaking to SportNews:

"The players are getting the challenge to be consistent. Marco Bizot was fantastic after Emi Martinez was injured. Marco is a really fantastic guy, fantastic professional. His role is clear and he accepted it. When he is playing like how he did today, we are so, so proud of him.

"Today, as well, Watkins scored goals. Amadou [Onana] scores a set-piece goal. Its something we are working and have been missing. Today we achieved it.

"We've needed other players scoring goals like they did today. I'm proud of how the players are responding. This is the way we want to build, to create here in our structure.

On Watkins: "When Watkins is doing his task, he's playing fantastic. Sometimes scoring, sometimes not. He was a long time without scoring, today he scored and he got that balance. He needs to keep calm and keep going."

Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler speaking to SportNews:

"There are small margins that made the difference. it's about how you react and two set-pieces made the difference. These are the small margins. Overall, we saw a team that never gave up and had the belief to win this game.

"Overall, we defended it quite well in the season so far. It's not easy to defend set-pieces. The blocking of the goalkeeper, we still don't have a clear rule for that.

"It's not easy to concede goals and we want to react. We have to challenge adversity we face in the game, and we have to be better.

"It was a matter of small margins. They scored in the second half after two set pieces and that's the difference. We have to do better and keep improving."

Tags:

football report id:531261

Share this article

Related Posts

QPR 0-4 Middlesbrough: Boro secure emphatic Championship win at Loftus Road to boost automatic promotion chances

QPR 0-4 Middlesbrough: Boro secure emphatic Championship win at Loftus Road to boost automatic promotion chances

Middlesbrough emphatically boosted their automatic promotion hopes by thrashing QPR 4-0 at Loftus Road.David Strelec put Boro ahead before Alan Browne...

Scottish Premiership goals and free match highlights of every game in 2025/26 season

Scottish Premiership goals and free match highlights of every game in 2025/26 season

Brandt to leave Dortmund this summerBorussia Dortmund have announced that Julian Brandt will be leaving the club on a free transfer at the end of the...

World Cup 2026: Scotland assistant Steven Naismith 'very optimistic' about chances of progressing from group stages

World Cup 2026: Scotland assistant Steven Naismith 'very optimistic' about chances of progressing from group stages

100 days out from World Cup 2026, Scotland assistant coach Steven Naismith is feeling “very optimistic” about his country’s chances of progressing bey...

Eberechi Eze has struggled for Arsenal since Spurs hat-trick but Gunners can unlock his potential - The Radar

Eberechi Eze has struggled for Arsenal since Spurs hat-trick but Gunners can unlock his potential - The Radar

Welcome to The Radar, a Your Site column in which uses a blend of data and opinion to shed light on need-to-know stories from up and down the Premie...

Hearts 1-0 Falkirk: Islam Chesnokov strike moves hosts further clear at top of Scottish Premiership

Hearts 1-0 Falkirk: Islam Chesnokov strike moves hosts further clear at top of Scottish Premiership

Islam Chesnokov scored the only goal of the game as Hearts edged Falkirk 1-0 at Tynecastle to extend their lead at the top of the Scottish Premiership...

Igor Tudor: How will new Tottenham boss line-up against Arsenal on Sunday amid absentee crisis?

Igor Tudor: How will new Tottenham boss line-up against Arsenal on Sunday amid absentee crisis?

“We have a lot of injured players, so we need to first find the best system that suits the players that are available at this moment, so a very partic...