On 5 May, one of the matches of the 36th round of the English football championship took place. Brighton (England) and Aston Villa (England) met.
English Championship, 36th round
Brighton (England) - Aston Villa (England) - 1:0 (0:0)
Goals: Joao Pedro (87)
Warnings: Gross (49), Simon Adingra (63), R. De Zerbi (90).
In a tense Premier League match between Brighton and Aston Villa at the American Express Stadium, fans were treated to a hard fought match that ended in a 1-0 victory for the home side. Both teams struggled in the centre of the pitch in the first half, but neither team could break the deadlock. Aston Villa made the first substitution of the match in the 26th minute, replacing M. Rogers with M. Cash. Brighton took the lead in the second half when P. Gross received a yellow card in the 49th minute. The home side continued to press, leading to a substitution in the 61st minute when F. Buonanotte replaced J. Enciso. Despite their best efforts, a goal against Brighton was cancelled in the 68th minute due to offside. In the 73rd minute, Aston Villa made their second substitution of the match, replacing M. Diaby with J. Durand. Duran.
Tension reached its peak in the 85th minute when a penalty was awarded to Brighton, but Joao Pedro failed to convert it. However, the forward redeemed himself just two minutes later by scoring the only goal of the match in the 87th minute. Brighton made two more substitutions in the final minutes of the match: B. Gilmour and D. Welbeck came on in place of K. Balleb and J. Moder respectively. The game ended on an unpleasant note for both teams: R. De Zerby received a yellow card. De Zerby received a yellow card for Brighton, and M. Cash - for Aston Villa. Aston Villa made three quick substitutions in the final minutes of the match: L. Dinh, E. Konsa and A. Moreno came on in place of A. Moreno, K. Chambers and M. Cash. Brighton also made a late substitution, replacing V. Barco with S. Adingra. Overall, it was a hard fought win for Brighton, who will be looking to build on this result in the coming matches. Aston Villa, on the contrary, will be disappointed with the result and will try to bounce back in the next match.
The following matches await the rivals in the next round: Newcastle - Brighton, Aston Villa - Liverpool.
| Brighton | Aston Villa | |
|---|---|---|
| 8 | Kicks to the goal | 1 |
| 15 | Kicks | 2 |
| 4 | Blocked punches | 0 |
| 11 | Penalty kicks | 1 |
| 4 | Kicks from outside the penalty box | 1 |
| 13 | Offences | 9 |
| 6 | Corner | 2 |
| 4 | Offsides | 1 |
| 52% | Ball possession | 48% |
| 2 | Yellow cards | 0 |
| 0 | Red cards | 0 |
| 1 | Keeper saves | 7 |
| 474 | Total assists | 432 |
| 409 | Accurate assists | 374 |
| 86% | Accuracy of passes | 87% |