Unai Emery's Aston Villa endured a miserable start to their Premier League campaign on Sunday, suffering a humiliating 4-0 defeat away at Brighton, with all four goals arriving in a chaotic first-half display from the visitors. To compound matters, midfielder Joao Gomes has now been hit with a three-match suspension after being sent off during the encounter, ruling him out of a crucial clash with Arsenal later this month.
The rout at the Amex Stadium began in disastrous fashion for Villa when Victor Lindelof turned the ball into his own net inside the opening eight minutes, gifting Brighton an early lead. The home side doubled their advantage shortly after as Maxim De Cuyper found the net ten minutes later. Brighton's dominance continued as Jack Hinshelwood struck twice in quick succession just past the half-hour mark, effectively ending the contest as a contest before the interval had even arrived.
Villa's afternoon went from bad to worse five minutes before halftime when Gomes was shown a straight red card, reducing the visitors to ten men. The Brazilian, who joined from Wolves in a deal reported to be worth £38million, had already picked up a yellow card in the ninth minute following a heated exchange with an opponent. His dismissal came after a VAR review determined he had kicked out at Brighton's Georginio Rutter.
The Premier League's match centre confirmed the incident led to a violent conduct charge. In an official statement, it was explained: