Twenty-three minutes, four goals
Between the 8th and the 31st minute at the Amex, Aston Villa’s afternoon came apart completely. Brighton won 4-0 and the contest was finished long before the interval.
Victor Lindelof got it started by turning the ball into his own net on eight minutes. Maxim De Cuyper added the second on 18. Then Jack Hinshelwood scored twice inside 120 seconds, on 30 and 31. Joao Gomes was sent off, and Villa played out the rest with ten.
The second half was housekeeping. Brighton never needed a second gear.
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Emery’s worst possible opening day
Unai Emery built his standing at Villa Park on defensive structure and clean starts to a campaign. Conceding four in half an hour, at home, on matchday one, undoes a fair amount of that in one sitting.
Villa never held the ball long enough to settle. The own goal opened the door and the red card removed any chance of shutting it again. There is a week now to work out what happened.
Brighton, for their part, keep proving the model works: a young squad, mostly homegrown or bought early and cheap, capable of taking a well-resourced opponent apart from the first whistle.
Hinshelwood picks his moment
The timing of that double is hard to ignore. Manchester City have been circling the academy graduate for weeks as they look at their midfield. Two goals in two minutes in a four-goal win does not soften Brighton’s asking price.
De Cuyper is making his own case. The Belgian full-back is on the scoresheet again, which for a defender in that role is not something you see often.
Brighton hold the best goal difference in the division after the weekend. Villa sit at the bottom of it. Nine months remain.
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