Brighton thrash Aston Villa 4-0 in first half, leave rivals with ten men

LONDON — Brighton & Hove Albion defeated Aston Villa 4-0 in the first half of their Premier League match on Saturday, with all four goals coming inside the opening 31 minutes. An own goal by Villa defender Victor Lindelöf in the 8th minute gave the hosts the lead before Maxim De Cuyper doubled Brighton's advantage 10 minutes later. Jack Hinshelwood then struck twice in quick succession, heading in the third in the 30th minute before pouncing on a scramble inside the penalty area a minute later to make it 4-0. Hinshelwood's brace capped a dominant Brighton display at the Amex Stadium. Brighton's control was reinforced in the 40th minute when referee overturned an initial yellow card shown to Joao Gomes after a VAR review, upgrading it to a straight red. The dismissal left Villa to play the remainder of the match with ten men. With the scoreboard reading 4-0 at halftime, some Villa supporters began leaving the stadium in protest at their team's first-half performance. No second-half details were immediately available.