Aston Villa were sixth in the Premier League, but staff and players sensed they were yet to fully hit their stride.
Unai Emery spoke about “developing a structure” after recent wins and midweek losses in cup competitions, and appeared optimistic that Villa, sooner rather than later, would click. Naming an unchanged line-up for a third successive league game against Brighton was proof he felt closer to finding a sweet spot.
Emery barely mustered a smile after Villa’s 6-1 win but deep down knew his “structure” had clicked — and ruthlessly at that.
He also knew Ollie Watkins — about whom the manager has fielded several questions over his contract, a perceived lack of goals and England chances — had made Villa sing to his beat.
Ordinarily, Brighton are one of the most assured sides in Europe, economical in their actions and leaving teams chasing rotational shadows. They very rarely look blemished, never mind fractured beyond repair.
Emery and half a dozen analysts typically devour footage of the opposition. There are some opponents, though, as Villa’s head coach explained on Friday, that he watches more and learns from. Brighton’s Roberto De Zerbi, whom Emery described “as one of the best coaches in the world”, is one example.
Emery and De Zerbi share distinct similarities in their on-ball approach. Both are relentless in the pursuit of game control, with Emery outlining Brighton’s chief strength is “breaking the opponent pressing”.
It is the same trait that binds him and De Zerbi together. They each task central defenders with waiting on the ball, tempting forwards into pressing and being drawn out of shape, before picking the right moment to then accelerate the tempo.
It made what transpired in 12 first-half minutes at Villa Park all the more remarkable. It only took Villa that long to blow Brighton away.
Watkins puts Villa 1-0 up (Photo: James Gill/Getty Images)
Ezri Konsa’s initial pass into Moussa Diaby felt symbolic; it was the first passage of play in which Brighton appeared outbalanced. Konsa had been the first Villa player to break Brighton’s press, stepping forward with the ball and finding the run of Diaby (No 19, below).
Through Diaby’s repackaging as an inside winger this season, Villa made 10 more passes, gradually overloading the right flank. John McGinn (No 7) eventually held up a mirror to Brighton’s own strength of accelerating the play, dropping into the half-space and picking Matty Cash’s (No 2) overlap, who squared for Watkins (No 11) to score.
Although it was a move consisting of patience, it was not in keeping with the two other goals that followed.
Emery had spoken to his players on Saturday morning, explaining why a more direct approach would crack Brighton’s press and ball dominance. His strategy carried risk and a loss of control, but Emery is a coach who, as he put it after, “demands a different tactical game plan” every week.
“I was thinking this morning when the manager did the tactics meeting it’s either going to be 6-1 to us or 6-1 to them,” said McGinn. “Thankfully, it was 6-1 to us.”
Emery encouraged certain players to go longer in their distribution, bypassing Brighton’s man-marking system. He identified one-v-one match-ups across the pitch, some regarded as conducive and others which were not.
Emery stressed the need for Diaby and Watkins to isolate the centre-back pairing of Lewis Dunk and Adam Webster, making explosive runs into either channel and creating the type of transitional game that is the antithesis of Brighton’s uber passing.
“Our game plan was to find the players we can fight man to man and two against two,” said Emery. “When they were doing man to man over the pitch, we tried to avoid the first build-up phase and play longer and faster to the strikers, McGinn and Nicolo Zaniolo. We did fantastic with Watkins fighting with the defence. When we needed to try and keep possession, we did it as well.”
Emi Martinez’s distribution map from the first hour shows how often he went long
Watkins’ first goal naturally helped the strategy’s effectiveness, with Villa Park — seeking a 10th straight Premier League home win — combative. Villa made more fouls in the first hour of any game since the 2021-22 campaign, with an obvious emphasis on turnovers and playing straight into Watkins and Diaby.
Watkins scored again seven minutes later, with Diaby seizing on a loose pass and finding the run of his strike partner in the left channel.
Villa’s third, an own goal by Pervis Estupinan, was carved from similar circumstances. Watkins revelled in the same spaces, combining with Lucas Digne who crossed and created the indecision.
As Emery jumped up and down, his fists clenched, De Zerbi retreated to his bench, staring at the floor.
Brighton had recorded a higher tally of expected goals rate (xG), but the pace and ruthlessness of Watkins and Diaby, empowered by Emery’s game plan, had pierced through them. Brighton were 3-0 down inside 26 minutes and on course for their biggest Premier League defeat.
Villa’s average positioning from the first half shows how high and advanced Emery wanted his players — notably Watkins (11) and Diaby (19). Going direct helped the team reach them quickly.
The 12-minute burst left Brighton with no way back. Villa found it straightforward to pick pockets on the transition with Watkins, in completing his hat-trick, scoring his 50th Villa goal and delivering his most complete performance.
In front of the England manager Gareth Southgate, Watkins became the first player to score two hat-tricks in a season for Villa since Andy Gray in the 1976-77 campaign.
Watkins characterised how Villa blew Brighton away. Pace, directness and a structured role left De Zerbi wondering where “the true Brighton” had gone.
_ (Top photo: James Gill/Getty Images)_
