Jack Grealish scored a fine equaliser to earn Aston Villa a point against Brighton at Amex Stadium.
The Villa skipper collected Douglas Luiz’s searching pass before firing into the roof of the nett with 15 minutes remaining.
Brighton had taken the lead in the first half when Leandro Trossard hit a first-time shot into the corner after a fine run by Neal Maupay.
Maupay came close to scoring a late winner for Brighton, but his volley was well saved by Villa debutant Pepe Reina.
The former Brentford striker was then involved in an angry confrontation with Ezri Konsa at the final whistle, in what was a fiery conclusion to a game that rarely sparked into life.
Aston Villa remains in the relegation zone despite the draw. Brighton stays 14th but are now three points clear of the bottom three.
Aston Villa manager Dean Smith wanted a reaction from his players after their humbling 6-1 defeat by Manchester City last weekend, their worst result since 2016.
He made five changes to his side, including a debut in goal for 37-year-old former Liverpool goalkeeper Reina, who joined on loan from AC Milan this week.
Reina could do little to stop Trossard’s fine opener but demonstrated his class with a wonderful save at full stretch to tip away Maupay’s late volley.
With a £10m deal for Genk striker Mbwana Samatta yet to be completed, Villa started the match without a recognised centre-forward for the third game in a row.
Anwar El Ghazi was pushed furthest forward but struggled to get much from Adam Webster and Lewis Dunk.
That placed most of the creative burden on Grealish, who once again looked the player most likely to change the game for the visitors.
The 24-year-old had a great chance to open the scoring in the first half but he drove the ball wide from the edge of the area after a breakaway from the halfway line.
But with the game drifting away from Villa in the second half, he showed a moment of genuine quality to control Luiz’s pass, shimmy away from the defender before firing beyond Mat Ryan for his ninth goal of the season.
Brighton enjoyed the better of possession and made most of the running in the first half, but they showed a lack of composure in the final third, highlighted by the fact they could only manage two shots on target all game.
They scored with their first attempt, with the lively Maupay central in the build-up.
The former Brentford striker went on a mazy run from just inside the Aston Villa half before teeing up Trossard, who fired an unstoppable drive across Reina into the bottom corner for his third goal of the season.
Maupay and Aaron Connolly formed a hard-working strike partnership and they hassled and harried the Villa defence all afternoon, but without really testing Reina until the closing stages.
That lack of cutting edge cost them, with Grealish’s late equaliser meaning Brighton have now dropped 14 points from losing positions in the Premier League this season.
This game marked the start of a run of matches against sides around Brighton in the table, with Bournemouth, West Ham and Watford lying in wait in the next few weeks.
Graham Potter has been praised for the way he has developed Brighton’s playing style, but he needs a greater attacking threat from his side in those matches if they are to pull themselves away from danger.
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Source – BBC
