Aston Villa pulled off one of the most dramatic comebacks of this Premier League season by beating Brighton 4–3 on the road after falling behind 2–0. The win lifts the team into third place, reinforces its dominant form and, above all, cements Unai Emery as the manager with the most victories in the club’s Premier League history.
The comeback that changed everything
Brighton built a two-goal lead before the 30-minute mark, first through Jan Paul van Hecke and then with Pau Torres’ own goal. For many teams, that kind of start breaks confidence and practically ends the contest. Villa didn’t fold. Watkins, who hadn’t scored in the league for more than two months, stepped up when it mattered most. He scored once, then again, pulling the match level before halftime and shifting the entire atmosphere inside the Amex Stadium.
The decisive turnaround came in the 60th minute, when Amadou Onana finished off the pressure Villa had been applying since the end of the first half. Later, Donyell Malen added a fourth, a goal that turned out to be essential once Van Hecke scored again and pushed the match into a tense final stretch. It wasn’t a clean or controlled victory, but it was exactly the kind of performance that sustains long campaigns the kind where a team refuses to accept the scoreline being imposed on it.
Emery’s night and the words that reveal a lot
With the win, Unai Emery reached his 62nd Premier League victory with Villa, surpassing John Gregory and Martin O’Neill. And he didn’t hide how much the supporters meant in this moment for the club. “Sou muito grato aos nossos torcedores. Eles estiveram aqui, viajando de Birmingham para estar conosco, para nos apoiar, para nos ajudar. Eles são muito importantes porque os jogadores sentiram isso, como eles estavam nos incentivando e nos ajudando. Isso nos motiva muito,” he told VillaTV.
The coach also broke down the emotional key behind the comeback. “A forma como reagimos, como não desistimos depois do primeiro e do segundo gol, foi fantástica. Quando marcamos nosso primeiro gol, mantivemos o equilíbrio e tentamos dominar.” That mentality is exactly what places Villa among the top four and gives the team a five-point cushion over its closest chasers.
This was only the third time Villa has overturned a 2–0 deficit away from home in the Premier League. But what stands out isn’t the statistic, it’s the personality. Villa has won 11 of its last 13 matches, put together six straight victories and, week after week, keeps showing it isn’t an accidental visitor in the upper tier of the table.