Ollie Watkins hat-trick helps Aston Villa thrash disappointing Brighton

Brighton travelled to Villa Park boasting a 100% record on the road, but all hopes of extending that were eviscerated by three Villa goals in the space of 12 chaotic minutes.

Ollie Watkins kick-started the onslaught when he tapped home from Matty Cash’s low cross to score in a fourth consecutive Premier League (PL) appearance against the Seagulls.

And after getting the hosts up and running, Brighton’s nemesis wasted little time in piling more misery onto the South Coast club.

The Villa striker surged purposefully into the box, before cutting onto his right foot and driving the ball in at the near post to double his side’s advantage.

Roberto De Zerbi could only look on in disbelief as a disastrous start took another turn for the worse, when Pervis Estupiñán diverted Moussa Diaby’s effort into his own net.

Solly March then spurned the chance to give his side something of a foothold back into the game, after failing to hit the target with his headed effort, ultimately summing up a woeful first period for the visitors.

The poor first-half display was enough to force De Zerbi to make a triple change at the break, introducing Tariq Lamptey, Ansu Fati and João Pedro.

The substitutions made an impact as Fati turned home his first Brighton goal from close range after Pedro had drawn the Villa defence towards him with his nimble footwork.

But just as a reinvigorated Brighton side started to gain momentum, Watkins stopped them in their tracks with a deflected left-foot strike that brought up the second PL hat-trick of his career.

And there was still time for Jacob Ramsey to curl the ball in off the post and Douglas Luiz to slot into the corner to wrap up Villa’s 10th consecutive PL home win in style, moving them level on 15 points with their demoralised opponents.

Flashscore Man of the Match: Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa)