Brighton and Hove Albion vs Aston Villa. Premier League.
Amex StadiumAttendance31,596.
Report and free match highlights as Brighton end six-game winless run with victory over Aston Villa; Morgan Rogers forced off with first-half injury; Pascal Gross has second-half goal ruled out for offside by VAR; Joao Pedro nets late winner after penalty is saved
Sunday 5 May 2024 22:08, UK
Joao Pedro netted a late winner to halt Aston Villa's charge to qualify for the Champions League as Brighton deservedly claimed a 1-0 victory at the Amex Stadium.
Villa, though, need just three points at most from their final two matches against Liverpool and Crystal Palace to secure fourth after Spurs were beaten 4-2 at Liverpool on Sunday.
But Unai Emery's side looked jaded after their midweek defeat to Olympiakos with the out-of-form hosts denied the opening goal during the second half by VAR when Pascal Gross was ruled offside.
Villa's John McGinn then found the net but he too was offside before Brighton deservedly claimed the points, Pedro heading in the rebound from his penalty which the brilliant Robin Olsen had saved.
Villa remain in fourth, seven points above Spurs, who have a game in hand.
Brighton winger Simon Adingra was the best player throughout and he forced Olsen, who filled in for the injured Emi Martinez superbly, into an early save.
Villa struggled to find any rhythm which was hindered further when the in-form Morgan Rogers was forced off in just the 24th minute with a muscle injury.
Ollie Watkins showed his quality with a nice touch to get away from Adam Webster yet Villa saw very little of the Brighton goal with all the action coming up the other end.
The hosts had two chances in added time with Adingra unable to steer a cross past Olsen before the Villa goalkeeper made a crucial save from Gross at close range.
Olsen continued his fine form in the second half when Adingra played Joao Pedro through on goal and the striker was denied by the towering goalkeeper.
Brighton thought they had finally taken the lead when Gross turned in from Igor's left-wing cross but after a lengthy VAR check, the goal was ruled out.
Villa then saw McGinn's strike flagged offside when he had tucked home after the ball ricocheted to him inside the box while Brighton striker Danny Welbeck saw his header drop wide.
Brighton pushed for a winner and got their reward when Adingra got the wrong side of Ezri Konsa and went down in the box. Olsen dived to his right and kept out Pedro's penalty, but the ball sat up nicely for the Brighton forward to head in.
Brighton manager Roberto De Zerbi said:
"I'm proud because we played a great game against one of the best teams in the Premier League. They are fourth and playing against Unai Emery is very tough. We played a good game and deserved to win.
"We could have scored more goals but, to be honest, Villa were not the true Villa. Maybe they were tired. I can understand that because they played on Thursday evening and they have a lot of injuries. For that, they couldn't be the true Aston Villa.
"We played very well in the defensive phase but in the offensive phase as well, we created a lot of chances to score. We made mistakes in the last part of the pitch, we have to be better, but we are unlucky because [Robin] Olsen was the best player for Villa."
Aston Villa manager Unai Emery said:
"[Tiredness] is not an excuse for us. We lost and didn't deserve more. We competed and were focused. We tried to get our chances.
"They were creating more chances than us and corners. We needed the goalkeeper and Robin Olsen played fantastically. Now the most important thing is to recover the players.
"We played against Arsenal two weeks ago in the same circumstances, more or less, and we won there. Today we didn't do it and get a good result. We didn't deserve more but we're positive, happy and proud of our work."
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Brighton have three games remaining of their season. They go to Newcastle on Saturday May 11, kick-off 3pm, before hosting Chelsea on Wednesday May 15, kick-off 7.45pm. Brighton then finish at home to Manchester United on Sunday May 19, kick-off 4pm.
Aston Villa travel to Olympiakos for the second leg of their Europa Conference League semi-final on Thursday May 9, kick-off 8pm. They then feature on Monday Night Football on May 13 at home to Liverpool, live on Sky Sports. Kick-off 8pm. Unai Emery's side finish the season at Crystal Palace on May 19, kick-off 4pm.
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