Two aspirant clubs, a pair of transformative managers, both aiming to crash the elite. Both coaches deeply admire the other, but it was Roberto De Zerbi, lately linked with Real Madrid, who received a lesson from the greater wiles of Unai Emery, and a masterclass in centre-forward play by Villa’s Ollie Watkins.
Emery’s innovations may have been chewed up and spat out by Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain but he remains a manager of meticulous research, often knowing his opponents perhaps even better than they do themselves. Time and again, his Villa team picked at the weakness at the point of transition that is the soft underbelly of Brighton’s counter-pressing machine.
Both managers retained permanent presences on the sidelines, Emery always in motion, urging, clapping, forever tweaking. De Zerbi was far less demonstrative, hands in pocket, pacing like a Ryder Cup captain watching another vital putt slide by, trying to retain his cool as his team repeatedly lost the battles for second balls and room to express themselves.
Brighton had won just once at Villa Park in 15 previous visits but had won five of their first six top-flight matches this season. How would Villa, clad in their infamous, wet-look, heavy-wearing home kits cope? They pressed hard and aggressively from the get-go, forcing Lewis Dunk into an early – and portentous – communication breakdown with his goalkeeper, Jason Steele.
As Brighton dominated early possession, it was Villa who broke more dangerously. Their first major chance saw Watkins enraged when Moussa Diaby over-deliberated. He was smiling soon enough once John McGinn’s pass sent Matty Cash clear down the right. A finish from a yard out was his only requirement.
Watkins might have had a swift second but he swung a dipping effort just wide. The wait was not extended much longer and it was all his own work, chasing down Joël Veltman before checking back to slot past Steele. Brighton claimed Nicolò Zaniolo’s dummy run had unsighted Steele. VAR offered them no respite.
Ollie Watkins gives Aston Villa the lead inside the first 15 minutes. Photograph: James Gill/Getty Images
Nor did Villa, the wind fully in their sails. Douglas Luiz clattered into Solly March, another possible infringement waved away by those at Stockley Park, and Watkins set up Diaby to shoot. The second attempt rebounded off Pervis Estupiñán and beyond Steele.
De Zerbi, never afraid to trust youth, had declared in pre-match that debutant Jack Hinshelwood was someone with “big potential, big personality, big courage” but such qualities were little in evidence from any of the Brighton players in a torrid first half. Hinshelwood completed 87 minutes when other, more celebrated teammates, were unceremoniously removed far earlier. The experience gained by the 18-year-old would number among few positives.
When Danny Welbeck is committing vicious fouls in midfield it spells panic in the ranks. Evan Ferguson, heir apparent to the Premier League’s top strikers, was handed an object lesson in leading the line by Watkins, a wrecking ball to Dunk and his partner Adam Webster. The Ireland international did not return after the break.
How would Brighton respond? Half-time saw the introduction of Ansu Fati, Tariq Lamptey and João Pedro; Ferguson, Welbeck and Estupiñán those replaced. Almost instant results followed. Fati scored his first Brighton goal after Villa made a mess of a quickly taken free-kick. This time, after another lengthy VAR investigation, Brighton had a foothold they soon enough slipped from.
Risk and reward are central to De Zerbi’s approach, where Emery is more risk-averse. On came Jacob Ramsey to lock down midfield as Brighton’s overhauled attack made the more dangerous incursions. Simon Adingra’s introduction for March further freshened up a four-man attack but the echoes of the first half were soon ringing out. Having soaked up pressure, Villa sprang the trap.
Watkins was again the self-starter, intercepting and interchanging with McGinn and reaching his hat-trick via the prostate form of hapless Webster, by now surely yearning for the sanctity of the subs’ bench. Brighton’s two Premier League defeats have seen Watkins and West Ham’s Michail Antonio – two powerful, canny, speedy strikers – terrorise them.
Worse would follow for Brighton’s beleaguered defence, with two late Villa goals. Ramsey, the local hero, and Douglas Luiz, with his fifth in five home matches, were both assisted by the still rampaging Watkins, completing a dream day for Villa and a manager underestimated at his opponent’s peril.
