Brighton kicked off their new Premier League campaign in emphatic fashion, thrashing Europa League winners Aston Villa 4-0 at the Amex Stadium.
The Seagulls took the lead after just eight minutes when Maxim de Cuyper’s effort deflected in off Villa defender Victor Lindelof for an own goal. The Belgian then got his name on the scoresheet 10 minutes later with a simple finish to double Brighton’s advantage.
Villa’s collapse continued as Jack Hinshelwood scored twice in as many minutes to put Brighton 4-0 ahead. The visitors were then reduced to 10 men after Joao Gomes was sent off just 40 minutes into his nightmare debut.
Unai Emery’s side had started brightly, with Emiliano Buendia almost giving Villa the lead inside five minutes after winning possession in the final third, but his effort narrowly missed the bottom corner.
Brighton, however, capitalised on their first opportunity. Pau Torres’ blind pass into his own box fell to De Cuyper, whose shot struck the post before deflecting in off Lindelof. Georginio Rutter then made a well-timed run behind the Villa defence before cutting the ball back for De Cuyper to finish from six yards and make it 2-0.
Fabian Hurzeler’s side added a third just after the half-hour mark when De Cuyper’s cross from the left was knocked back across goal by Diego Gomez, allowing Hinshelwood to tap in.
Only a minute later, Yasin Ayari won possession from Gomes inside the Villa box, and Hinshelwood made no mistake as he fired home his second goal of the game.
Villa’s afternoon went from bad to worse before half-time when Gomes, already booked, kicked out at Rutter. Following a VAR review, he was shown a straight red card.
Villa managed to prevent further damage in the second half, but the result had already been decided as Brighton completed a commanding 4-0 victory over Emery’s side.
