Brighton made a statement on the opening weekend of the Premier League season with a stunning 4-0 victory over Europa League winners Aston Villa at the Amex Stadium.
Fabian Hurzeler’s side raced into a four-goal lead before half-time, while Villa’s afternoon went from bad to worse when new signing Joao Gomes was sent off before the break.
De Cuyper inspires Brighton rout
Brighton needed only eight minutes to break the deadlock after a disastrous mistake from the visitors.
Pau Torres’ blind pass inside his own penalty area found Maxim De Cuyper, whose effort struck the post before deflecting into the net off Victor Lindelof.
The Belgian defender doubled Brighton’s advantage 10 minutes later, finishing from close range after Georginio Rutter’s well-timed run and cut-back created the opportunity.
Villa had started brightly, with Emiliano Buendia coming close inside the opening five minutes, but they quickly lost control of the contest.
Brighton added a third in the 30th minute when Diego Gomez knocked De Cuyper’s cross back across goal for Jack Hinshelwood to tap in.
Hinshelwood struck again just a minute later after Yasin Ayari won possession inside the Villa box, leaving the visitors facing a huge deficit before the interval.
Gomes sees red on difficult debut
Villa’s misery was compounded shortly before half-time when Gomes was dismissed following a VAR review.
The Brazilian midfielder, already booked, kicked out at Rutter and was shown a straight red card after the incident was reviewed.
It completed a nightmare competitive debut for the summer signing and left Unai Emery’s team with a mountain to climb.
Brighton were unable to add to their advantage after the break, but the damage had already been done.