Match report

Aston Villa Stuns Brighton with Thrilling 4-3 Victory in Premier League

Brighton
Brighton
3–4
FT
Aston Villa
Aston Villa
Dec 3, 2025

Aston Villa stunned Brighton with a dramatic 4-3 victory on Saturday afternoon, securing a crucial three points in the Premier League. Despite falling behind early through Jan Paul van Hecke's goal for Brighton and an own-goal by Pablo Torres, Aston Villa rallied back strongly with goals from Ollie Watkins (2), Armando Onana, and Davy Malen. Brighton fought to level with another Van Hecke strike but could not withstand the final push from Villa.

Key Facts

  • • Brighton's Jan Paul van Hecke scored twice in the match (9th & 83rd minute).
  • • Ollie Watkins of Aston Villa netted a brace (37th and 45+8 minutes).
  • • Aston Villa took the lead with Armando Onana's goal (60th minute) and sealed victory through Davy Malen's late strike (78th minute).
  • • Pablo Torres scored an own-goal for Brighton in the 29th minute.
  • • Brighton had two yellow cards, one for Bryan Verbruggen (45+1 min) and Daniel Gómez (85 min), while Aston Villa received yellows for John McGinn (75 min) and Marco Bizot (90+5 min).

Lineups

Brighton

Formation: 4-2-3-1

Starting XI

  • 1 B. Verbruggen (G)
  • 27 M. Wieffer (D)
  • 6 J. P. van Hecke (D)
  • 5 L. Dunk (D)
  • 24 F. Kadioglu (D)
  • 17 C. Baleba (M)
  • 25 D. Gomez (M)
  • 11 Y. Minteh (M)
  • 8 B. Gruda (M)
  • 29 M. De Cuyper (M)
  • 9 S. Tzimas (F)

Substitutes

  • 23 J. Steele
  • 13 J. Hinshelwood
  • 18 D. Welbeck
  • 19 C. Kostoulas
  • 21 O. Boscagli
  • 34 J. Veltman
  • 42 D. Coppola
  • 49 J. Knight
  • 58 N. Oriola

Aston Villa

Formation: 4-2-3-1

Starting XI

  • 40 M. Bizot (G)
  • 2 M. Cash (D)
  • 4 E. Konsa (D)
  • 14 P. Torres (D)
  • 22 I. Maatsen (D)
  • 44 B. Kamara (M)
  • 24 A. Onana (M)
  • 29 E. Guessand (M)
  • 7 J. McGinn (M)
  • 27 M. Rogers (M)
  • 11 O. Watkins (F)

Substitutes

  • 60 R. Hollingshead
  • 3 V. Lindelof
  • 12 L. Digne
  • 16 A. Garcia
  • 26 L. Bogarde
  • 8 Y. Tielemans
  • 10 E. Buendia
  • 17 D. Malen
  • 19 J. Sancho

Timeline

  1. Brighton
    9' Brighton Goal · Normal Goal
    Jan Paul van Hecke · Assist: Mats Wieffer
  2. Brighton
    24' Brighton subst · Substitution 1
    Off: S. Tzimas · On: J. Hinshelwood
  3. Brighton
    29' Brighton Goal · Own Goal
    P. Torres
  4. Aston Villa
    37' Aston Villa Goal · Normal Goal
    O. Watkins · Assist: E. Guessand
  5. Brighton
    45'+8 Brighton Card · Yellow Card
    B. Verbruggen

    Argument

  6. Aston Villa
    45' Aston Villa Goal · Normal Goal
    O. Watkins · Assist: Morgan Rogers
  7. Aston Villa
    60' Aston Villa Goal · Normal Goal
    A. Onana · Assist: M. Cash
  8. Brighton
    67' Brighton subst · Substitution 2
    Off: F. Kadioglu · On: D. Welbeck
  9. Aston Villa
    70' Aston Villa subst · Substitution 1
    Off: I. Maatsen · On: L. Digne
  10. Aston Villa
    70' Aston Villa subst · Substitution 2
    Off: Boubacar Kamara · On: Y. Tielemans
  11. Aston Villa
    75' Aston Villa Card · Yellow Card
    J. McGinn

    Time wasting

  12. Aston Villa
    77' Aston Villa subst · Substitution 3
    Off: J. McGinn · On: D. Malen
  13. Brighton
    78' Brighton subst · Substitution 4
    Off: C. Baleba · On: Joël Veltman
  14. Aston Villa
    78' Aston Villa Goal · Normal Goal
    D. Malen
  15. Brighton
    83' Brighton Goal · Normal Goal
    Jan Paul van Hecke · Assist: J. Hinshelwood
  16. Brighton
    85' Brighton Card · Yellow Card
    D. Gomez

    Argument

  17. Aston Villa
    86' Aston Villa subst · Substitution 4
    Off: E. Guessand · On: L. Bogarde
  18. Aston Villa
    86' Aston Villa subst · Substitution 5
    Off: O. Watkins · On: E. Buendia
  19. Aston Villa
    90'+5 Aston Villa Card · Yellow Card
    Marco Bizot

    Time wasting

Match Stats

Stat Brighton Aston Villa
Fouls 10 9
Pass Accuracy 85% 83%
Offsides 4 1
Red Cards — —
Total Shots 16 14
Corners 5 6
Total Passes 473 362
Yellow Cards 2 2
Blocked Shots 3 2
Shots on Target 7 10
xG 2.21 2.41
Shots off Target 6 2
Possession 56% 44%
Goals Prevented 0 0
Accurate Passes 404 300
Shots Inside Box 12 12
Saves 6 4
Shots Outside Box 4 2

Key Match Notes

  • ▸ Aston Villa's two quick goals from Ollie Watkins in the 37th and 45+8 minutes marked a critical shift, putting pressure on Brighton.
  • ▸ Brighton briefly retook the lead through another Van Hecke goal at the 83rd minute, but Davy Malen's late equalizer just five minutes later was crucial for Aston Villa to secure their final victory.