Brighton 2 Aston Villa 1 - Player ratings

Emiliano Martinez

Saved impressively from Neal Maupay in the first-half after racing out of goal to deny the striker with his legs.

Had no chance with either of Brighton’s goals.

Solid 6

Matty Cash

Combined well with Bertrand Traore during the first-half but his delivery into the box was disappointing.

A solid enough match defensively.

Steady 6

Ezri Konsa

Netted his second of the season to get Villa back on level terms early in the second half.

The most solid of Villa’s backline on a day when they were shaky defensively.

Scorer 7

Tyrone Mings

Caught out for the opener when he seemed to lose Welbeck, this was an out-of-sorts performance from Mings, who was maybe feeling the strain from his England exploits.

Sloppy 5

Matt Targett

Had his hands full with the lively Tariq Lamptey down Villa’s left flank.

Booked on the stroke of half-time after flinging his arm into Maupay.

Erratic 5

Douglas Luiz

The Brazil international had played two matches in South America during the previous fortnight but looked the most composed of Villa’s midfield. Substituted as Villa hunted a leveller late on.

Composed 6

John McGinn

Guilty of giving the ball away too cheaply in the first-half, the Scotland international did improve after the break.

But this was still a below-par display from a player who can make things happen.

Off-key 5

Trezeguet

Another all-action performance from the Egyptian international but on a day when his lack of composure in front of goal was probably decisive.

Could and perhaps should have had a hat-trick.

Wasteful 5

Ross Barkley

Took a free-kick 50 seconds in and then played no further part. Villa will be praying the hamstring injury is not too serious.

N/A

Jack Grealish

Though the skipper caught the eye with some excellent skill and was the driving force behind Villa’s best attacks, his overall performance did not quite hit the heights of recent weeks.

Faded in the final 25 minutes, perhaps not that surprising considering his recent workload.

Busy 6

Ollie Watkins

A frustrating day for the striker, who was denied a tap-in by Ben White’s brilliant first-half challenge and was then ready to take Villa’s stoppage time penalty before referee Oliver’s change of heart.

First touch too often let him down.

Frustrated 5

Substitutes

Betrand Traore 5 (for Barkley, 5), Conor Hourihane 5 (for Luiz, 75), Anwar El Ghazi 5 (for Traore, 75) Subs not used: Nakamba, Elmohamady, Taylor, Steer (gk).