Sports
Aston Villa and Brighton up pick up big wins
Aston Villa and Brighton were the victors of two of Sunday’s afternoon kick-offs in the Premier League.
Liverpool returned to form with a big win over West Ham in East London, but there were two other games in action across the division.
Catch up with how they both unfolded here.
Villa’s hot streak continues
Aston Villa edged out Wolves at Villa Park, taking all three points through Boubacar Kamara’s second-half strike from range.
Unai Emery’s side were sharper for most of the afternoon and created the clearer openings, yet needed patience to break down a Wolves side content to absorb pressure and counter when possible.
Villa’s brightest early moment came when the visitors almost put through their own net, Moller Wolfe slicing a clearance against the crossbar.
Morgan Rogers and Matty Cash both forced Sam Johnstone into work, while Wolves offered occasional reminders of their threat, with Emiliano Martínez called on to stop Strand Larsen and Yerson Mosquera heading against the woodwork.
Villa increased their intensity after the interval, and the breakthrough arrived when John McGinn worked the ball to Kamara just outside the box. The midfielder opened his body and steered a controlled strike into the top corner, a finish that finally rewarded Villa’s dominance.
Emery adjusted late on to protect the lead as Wolves committed more men forward, looking for a response. Joao Gomes drew a strong save from Martínez and a scramble in stoppage time had home fans holding their breath, but Villa’s back line stayed firm through nine tense additional minutes.
Forest downed at home
Brighton claimed their first away win in two months with a composed 2-0 win over Nottingham Forest.
The visitors began sharply and carved out chances almost immediately, with Yankuba Minteh and Georginio Rutter both passing up early openings.
Forest had to clear twice off the line as Brighton maintained territorial control, though Morgan Gibbs-White almost produced a stunning opener at the other end, volleying narrowly wide in the hosts’ best moment of the half.
The breakthrough arrived on the stroke of half-time. A long ball from Bart Verbruggen released Minteh, whose combination with Rutter fell kindly for Maxim De Cuyper.
The Belgian struck first-time inside the area, scoring his second goal for the club and sending Brighton into the interval deservedly ahead.
Forest improved after the restart and built pressure without carving out many clear chances, their momentum peaking midway through the half when Callum Hudson-Odoi and Ben Brereton Diaz forced reactive defending inside the box.
Brighton remained a threat on the break and could have extended their lead when Diego Gomez was denied by Matz Sels, with Stefanos Tzimas also slow to capitalise on the rebound.
The decisive moment came with two minutes of normal time remaining. A short back-header from Morato was intercepted by Jack Hinshelwood, who collided with Sels as the ball spilled into space.
Tzimas reacted quickest and rolled in the second, confirming Brighton’s points and a rise into fifth.
