Aston Villa produced a remarkable turnaround at the Amex Stadium, overturning a two-goal deficit to edge Brighton 4–3 and tighten their grip on a Premier League top-four spot with a sixth straight victory in all competitions.

The evening began with a setback for Villa, as first-choice goalkeeper Emi Martínez was forced out during the warm-up, handing Marco Bizot just his third league start. The stand-in stopper endured a nightmare introduction: in the ninth minute, he failed to deal with a corner and Jan Paul van Hecke reacted quickest amid the chaos to nod in his second Brighton goal.

Villa’s slow starts have been a worrying theme this season, and they were punished again before the half-hour mark. Jack Hinshelwood burst into space and attempted to square the ball across goal, only for it to ricochet off Pau Torres and past Bizot for an unfortunate own goal. Brighton had now scored twice or more in six straight home league matches and looked comfortably in control.

But the tide turned sharply. Eight minutes before the break, Ollie Watkins bravely slid in to steer Ian Maatsen’s driven cross home, giving Villa a lifeline. Suddenly the visitors carried real threat — Ezri Konsa smacked a header against the post deep into stoppage time, and still there was room for more drama before the interval. Watkins latched onto a hopeful long ball, shrugged off the chase, and drilled beyond Bart Verbruggen for his ninth goal in ten Premier League meetings with Brighton, hauling Villa level in stunning fashion.

Unai Emery’s side emerged from the break transformed, and their dominance was rewarded just after the hour. Matty Cash delivered a looping corner to the back post and Amadou Onana powered his header in from close range, sending the travelling supporters into delirium.

Lewis Dunk almost added to Villa’s tally himself, slicing an attempted clearance towards goal on his 500th appearance for the Seagulls, but Verbruggen reacted sharply to spare his captain. Brighton’s relief didn’t last long. With 12 minutes left, substitute Donyell Malen made an immediate impact, capitalising after Verbruggen spilled a header to tuck home Villa’s fourth.

The hosts refused to fold, and Van Hecke curled in a superb strike from the edge of the area to set up a frantic finale. Brighton piled forward in search of an equaliser, but Bizot atoned for his early error with a brilliant stoppage-time save to deny Danny Welbeck, ensuring Villa left with a precious first win at the Amex this season — and handing the Seagulls their first home league defeat of the campaign.