A late goal from Tariq Lamptey saw Brighton & Hove Albion fight back to earn an entertaining 2-2 draw at Aston Villa on Monday evening.
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The Seagulls had taken an early lead when Simon Adingra curled a lovely effort into the far corner, only for goals from Ollie Watkins and Morgan Rogers to turn the contest around.
Starting in place of the suspended Jhon Duran following his red card against Newcastle United, Watkins converted a penalty following a foul by Joao Pedro on Rogers.
Watkins then turned provider for Rogers, who made it 2-1 to Villa early in the second half.
Brighton equalised less than 10 minutes from time, however, as Joao Pedro teed up Lamptey to drill a low effort past Emiliano Martinez, denting Villa's UEFA Champions League hopes.
Unai Emery's men remain ninth in the Premier League table while Brighton, now without a win in seven matches, stay two points behind them in 10th.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 |
Newcastle
NEW
|
19 | +11 | 32 |
| 6 |
Man City
MCI
|
19 | +6 | 31 |
| 7 |
Bournemouth
BOU
|
19 | +6 | 30 |
| 8 |
Fulham
FUL
|
19 | +3 | 29 |
| 9 |
Aston Villa
AVL
|
19 | -3 | 29 |
| 10 |
Brighton
BHA
|
19 | +1 | 27 |
How the match unfolded
Brighton took the game's first chance in the 12th minute. Villa failed to deal with a lofted pass from Lewis Dunk, with Joao Pedro drawing in Ezri Konsa and Pau Torres before Adingra took on the loose ball and curled into the far corner.
They then went close to doubling their lead as a quick counter saw Julio Enciso's long-range shot pushed around the post by Emiliano Martinez.
However, Villa were awarded a penalty when Joao Pedro kicked through Rogers after a corner, with a VAR review leading to the on-field decision to not award a spot-kick being overturned. Watkins kept his cool and converted for 1-1 in the 36th minute.
Villa then took the lead early in the second half as a sublime dinked pass by Watkins put Rogers clean through, and he drilled his effort past Bart Verbruggen and into the far corner.
Brighton piled on the pressure as the second half wore on, though, and they found an equaliser when Lamptey fired into the bottom-left corner from the edge of the area.
Villa stutter despite Watkins boost
Villa’s home form is of considerable importance to their bid to qualify for the Champions League for a second successive season. They had lost just one of their last 14 home Premier League games ahead of this one, going unbeaten through their last eight.
Indeed, their Boxing Day defeat at Newcastle was their fifth in a row on their travels, so dropping points from a winning position on their own turf will be particularly frustrating.
Watkins, in for the suspended Duran, was a bright spark for Emery's hosts. He scored from the spot following a long wait for a VAR review and also had another good chance in first-half stoppage time, heading over from a corner by John McGinn.
Watkins played like he had a point to prove after a stint on the bench, showing off his all-round game with nicely weighted pass for the second goal, which was finished off by Rogers.
Emery’s men will be hugely disappointed not to see the game out, as they were the superior side for much of the encounter and failed to make a dominant start to the second half count.
They will look to get back on track when they host Leicester City in their first game of 2025, having lost ground in the battle for European qualification.
Seagulls show fight but winless run continues
Fabian Hurzeler is currently overseeing his toughest spell since becoming Brighton boss, with an encouraging start followed by a run of indifferent form now comprising seven winless matches.
They started brightly here, looking dangerous in transition through Adingra and Joao Pedro, though they still struggled to deal with periods of Villa dominance either side of the interval.
But Hurzeler deserves credit for forcing the issue with a triple substitution early in the second half, and the introductions of Yankuba Minteh and Kaoru Mitoma caused problems for Villa.
Joao Pedro and Minteh both had chances before Brighton earned themselves an equaliser following some intricate play around the box, which was finished off with a thunderous effort from an unlikely source in Lamptey.
What a move and what a finish... 😍 Our @MonsterEnergy Moment of the Match! ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/aS5sbRd6lT
— Brighton & Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC) December 30, 2024
Though Brighton's wait for a win continues, Hurzeler will be pleased with the fight shown on a difficult ground, and they remain within touching distance of the European spots ahead of their encounter with Arsenal on Saturday.
Club reports
Villa report | Brighton report
What the managers said
Unai Emery: "We played a very fantastic match more or less only the first 20 minutes we started lower than we were planning and we conceded one goal. We reacted and came back with 2-1. I have to accept it but I am a little bit frustrated with it. The table is very tight but we are in the race for the second part of the season.
"The result is at risk when you score one goal. We created some attacking third action and the corner we had with Ollie Watkins was maybe the key moment to win the match. We are ninth in the table and we have to try to start again against Leicester."
Fabian Hurzeler: "We deserved to make the equaliser and then had more chances to score the winning goal. It's a disappointing feeling because we could have got more. We have to invest a lot and I'm sure the match luck will come back.
"In the end, we are here in the present and we have to accept it and learn from it. Every draw should teach us something. We have to keep working and not complain about referee decisions."
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Match facts
Only Fulham (19) have dropped more points from winning positions in the Premier League this season than Brighton (18).
Ollie Watkins has scored more Premier League goals against Brighton than against any other side for Aston Villa (7), while he’s now scored three goals in his last four starts in the competition.
Morgan Rogers and Ollie Watkins have combined for four Premier League goals for Aston Villa this season, three of which have been scored by Rogers; only Cole Palmer and Noni Madueke (5) and Alexander Isak and Jacob Murphy (5) have done so more often in 2024/25.