Ollie Watkins scored twice as Aston Villa fought back from 2-0 behind to win a seven-goal thriller at Brighton.
This was a meeting between two in-form teams, with the Seagulls having won three of their previous four league games while Villa had won their past three in a row.
It looked like it would be the Seagulls who would continue their strong form when Jan Paul van Hecke scrambled in from close range after goalkeeper Marco Bizot – who replaced Emi Martinez just before kick-off – failed to deal with a corner.
Brighton added a second when a neat break ended with an attempted square ball by substitute Jack Hinshelwood deflecting heavily off Pau Torres into his own net.
The visitors seemed down and out, but Watkins sparked a remarkable fightback by scoring two goals to level matters before half-time.
The striker, who had not scored since September, got his first of the night when he slid in to finish from Ian Maatsen’s cross, and he then strode on to a ball over the defence before firing a confident equaliser.
Villa were suddenly in the ascendancy and deservedly took the lead in the second half when Amadou Onana turned in a corner at the far post.
Onana and Hinshelwood both had chances to score before substitute Donyell Malen got Villa’s fourth with almost his first touch, pouncing after Evann Guessand’s header was pushed back into the danger zone by Bizot.
Van Hecke gave Brighton hope of staging their own comeback when he fired in first time from the edge of the box before Bizot superbly saved from Danny Welbeck, but Villa held on for their sixth victory in a row across all competitions.
