Aston Villa vs Brighton: The Steven Gerrard era at Villa Park got off to a promising start with a 2-0 home win in his Premier League (managerial) debut on Saturday.
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Ollie Watkins and Tyrone Mings got the goals for Aston Villa, who now sit 16th in the Premier League table with 13 points from their first 12 games. Brighton (17 points), on the other hand, fall to 8th.
Aston Villa vs Brighton final score final score, stats, results
Final score: Aston Villa 2, Brighton 0
Goal scorers: Aston Villa (Watkins 84', Mings 89'), Brighton (None)
Shots: Aston Villa 9, Brighton 6
Shots on target: Aston Villa 5, Brighton 2
Possession: Aston Villa 37%, Brighton 63%
3 things we learned - Aston Villa vs Brighton
1. A defensive foundation to build upon: When we discussed Gerrard’s appointment this week, the PST staff was in universal agreement that his first order of business must be to sort out Aston Villa’s porous defensive to give them a fighting shot in games where they were previously beaten far too easily. It’s only one game, but Villa were beyond brilliant without the ball on Saturday. Brighton had 63 percent of possession, as they tend to do, but managed just six shots in total over 90 minutes. It’s hard impossible to ignore the new boss’s impact.
2. Path in place for Gerrard, Aston Villa: Despite being forced to fire their manager already this season, Aston Villa remain in a strong position to build for the future. The talent is there, the fit is good with the vast majority of the first-team squad, and now everyone is pulling in the same direction again. Gerrard will have been a childhood favorite (if not idol) of a number of the players he now manages, and they all played like they desperately wanted to impress the man, the myth, the legend on Saturday.
3. Possession aplenty, little else for Brighton: It was a bit jarring to see Brighton flummoxed and frustrated by parts of the sport other than finishing. You know you won’t see much of the ball when you play the Seagulls, and Gerrard had his team perfectly prepared for that challenge.
Man of the Match: Tyrone Mings - He was man of the match before his late goal, and that’s a very welcome sign at Villa Park.
Aston Villa vs Brighton final score, highlights
Ollie Watkins makes the most of a rare chance (goal video)
The kind of counter-attack that Aston Villa became known for during the height of Jack Grealish wearing a claret and blue shirt.
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Tyrone Mings in the right place at the right time to make it 2-0 (goal video)
Mings made it look rather easy for a center back, when so many others would have gotten it so wrong.
