Aston Villa secured a dominant 3-0 victory over Brighton on Wednesday, with Marcus Rashford marking his first league goal for the club.
The win propelled Villa above their opponents in the Premier League standings, moving them into seventh place with 48 points, just one behind Chelsea, who are set to face Tottenham Hotspur on Thursday. Brighton, now in eighth, trail by a single point.
While the title race and relegation battle are largely settled, the competition for European qualification remains fierce.
Playing their first league match since March 8, Villa bolstered their Champions League ambitions with a crucial three points.
“We knew this was an important game for us, it was must win,” Villa defender Ezri Konsa told Sky Sports. “We came to win and that’s what we did. The Champions League is the main goal.”
Villa’s busy schedule has seen them reach the Champions League quarterfinals and the FA Cup semi-finals in recent weeks.
Rashford, on loan from Manchester United, had already made an impact with a brace in Sunday’s 3-0 FA Cup triumph over Preston North End.
Both teams created opportunities in an engaging first half. Villa nearly took the lead when Konsa’s header was fumbled by Brighton’s Bart Verbruggen, though the goalkeeper managed to recover in time before Rashford could capitalize.
At the other end, Brighton’s Yasin Ayari struck the post with a free kick, while Villa had a penalty shout waved away following a VAR review after Jack Hinshelwood, already on a yellow card, appeared to foul Jacob Ramsey.
Six minutes into the second half, Rashford broke the deadlock. Morgan Rogers launched a long pass forward, and the England international controlled it expertly before firing past Verbruggen from outside the box.
“He’s got a smile on his face again. He looks like he’s enjoying football again,” Konsa added.
Brighton thought they had responded swiftly, but Simon Adingra’s effort was ruled out after Kaoru Mitoma was deemed to have handled the ball in the build-up.
“After the goal for them, the game changed,” Brighton manager Fabian Hurzeler told Sky Sports. “We weren’t able to create any more chances.”
Villa tightened their grip on the match in the closing stages. Rogers turned provider once more, delivering a low cross that substitute Marco Asensio, on loan from Paris Saint-Germain, guided home with 12 minutes remaining.
The visitors sealed the win deep into stoppage time when another substitute, Donyell Malen, found the net for the first time in a Villa shirt.
Asensio played him through, and Malen finished clinically into the far corner, ending Brighton’s five-match unbeaten league streak just days after their FA Cup exit to Nottingham Forest on penalties.
