- Aston Villa tied at home after Tariq Lamptey's equalizer
- The visitors salvaged a point after blowing an early first-half lead at Villa Park.
- LISTEN NOW: It's all starting! New line-up, some new faces, but optimism has faded at Old Trafford
Unai Emery bid farewell to 2024 with an extraordinary attack on Premier League bosses, but the Aston Villa boss should save his anger for his spendthrift team.
Villa should have been out of sight long before Tariq Lamptey equalized for Brighton nine minutes from time and this time Emery had no one to blame but the men in claret and blue in front of him.
After Simon Adingra had given the visitors the lead, goals either side of half-time from Ollie Watkins (a penalty) and Morgan Rogers should have given Villa all three points. But they could not land the fatal blow and Lamptey punished them.
Furious that Villa's appeal against the red card shown to Jhon Durán at Newcastle on Boxing Day was dismissed, Emery had used his program notes to launch an attack on the refereeing chiefs, specifically their use of VAR.
Emery believes VAR is using too much to support referees on the pitch rather than making the right decisions, although he could have changed his mind at half-time. The Stockley Park team advised referee Craig Pawson to award a penalty to Villa when Joao Pedro hit Rogers as he attempted to clear his lines.
Watkins, called up by the suspended Durán, scored from the penalty spot in the 29th and Rogers scored the second shortly after the break. Fabian Hurzeler's men managed to hold on and were rewarded in the end.
Brighton fought back to earn a deserved point at Aston Villa after conceding 19 shots on goal.
Villa now sit in ninth place and missed the chance to move closer to the top four with a win
Unai Emery's inconsistent side have won just four of their last 15 games in all competitions.
Emery concluded his rant on the show by saying he hoped no one talked about the refereeing decisions in this game. Anyone who read that would have known what was coming next.
With Brighton leading Simon Adingra's goal, Morgan Rogers demanded a penalty when he fell to Jan Paul van Hecke's attack from behind. Referee Craig Pawson signaled a corner and VAR Stuart Attwell saw no reason to intervene, as Emery took out his frustration on fourth official Gavin Ward.
He didn't have to wait long for a call to go in Villa's favor. Bart Verbruggen fluttered in the resulting corner and Joao Pedro kicked Rogers in the ankle as he tried to clear. This time VAR intervened and, encouraged from close range by Emi Martínez, Pawson awarded a penalty after deliberating for two minutes.
Watkins sent Verbruggen the wrong way from 12 yards and appeared to be celebrating in signal fashion, gesturing to himself and then down the field.
That was exactly what Villa needed after some terrible defending let Albion in. Ezri Konsa couldn't deal with Lewis Dunk's ball over the top and Pedro saved it, allowing Adingra to slot past Pau Torres and beat Martínez with an angled effort.
Earlier, the match was delayed five minutes due to a head injury suffered by Pedro after a confrontation with Boubacar Kamara. Add to that the VAR stoppages, plus Torres' early departure due to injury, and Brighton had to survive 12 minutes of added time at the end of the first half.
They managed to do it, thanks more to Villa's hasty finishing than their own strong defence. Watkins shot into the side netting and scored the goal when he should have fed John McGinn. Leon Bailey also found some great positions, but couldn't deliver when he got there.
Rogers' first-half booking for a foul on Carlos Baleba means he will be suspended for Saturday's game against Leicester, and the Villa man needed just 72 seconds of the second half to show his team what they will be missing.
The Seagulls took an early lead but almost came away empty-handed if not for Lamptey's equalizer
Verbruggen was again left exposed under the high ball and when Brighton failed to clear, Kamara found Watkins. His short pass found the visitors' defensive line poor and Rogers controlled with his chest and propelled Villa ahead.
The home team were finding space at will as Brighton struggled to stay afloat. Bailey tricked his way past the hapless Igor Julio once again, although he failed to find a team-mate, and Verbruggen parried a Lucas Digne cross with all his might. Watkins rose well to meet Digne's cross, but planted his header too close to Verbruggen.
The introduction of Kaoru Mitoma gave Brighton a little more attacking threat, but the danger did not diminish at the other end either, with Youri Tielemans the last to go close after a four-on-three counter-attack.
With just a goal lead, Villa were always vulnerable and Joao Pedro took advantage of a good opportunity after Kamara dabbled with the ball.
And the home team were punished for wasting so much when Lamptey finished a good move involving Mitoma and Pedro by beating Martinez from 16 yards.
Watkins had one last chance to seal the score in added time, but rushed his shot from a perfect spot inside the box.