The Villans end a three game winless streak after a superb first-half strike from Matty Cash and a well-worked Ollie Watkins goal on the 68 minute mark earns Aston Villa all three points away, as they do the league double over Graham Potter’s Seagulls.

Here are the main talking points from a much-needed win on the road…

Judgment Day

The attacking duo of Ollie Watkins and Danny Ings has been one of, if not the most, significant talking point of Aston Villa’s 2021/2022 campaign, with the two English forwards struggling to find any sort of rhythm and form a working, successful partnership.

Watkins and Ings have been deployed in various formations as a two or as an attacking three, with Watkins typically sent out wide, and simply put: it hasn’t worked.

The pair have started together in different systems under both Dean Smith and Steven Gerrard, and there has yet to be any signs of an effective, goal-scoring relationship between the two, leading to restlessness from the Villa fans who feel the duo cannot be on the field at the same time.

So when the team news was announced an hour and a half before kick-off, revealing both Watkins and Ings on the team sheet, there was quite the reaction from the Aston Villa fanbase across social media platforms, expressing their hesitance with Steven Gerrard’s decision and the idea that it may well be judgment day for the two.

On an attacking front, the two failed to combine regularly, which will once again be a concern for both Steven Gerrard and the Aston Villa fans, but the defensive and spatial awareness of the two, and the work rate demonstrated off the ball was remarkable and must be commended.

Of course, the attacking play will be on the mind of head coach, but as discussed in his post-match conference, Gerrard was quick to appraise the performance of his team off the ball:

Steven Gerrard: “What pleased me most today was how we controlled the game out of possession today. The players all bought into it. That gave us the base to win a tough match away from home.” #avfc

— Ashley Preece (@PreeceObserver) February 26, 2022

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By: liamayrtondavies
Title: Talking Points: Could Aston Villa’s win over Brighton and Hove Albion be a turning point?
Sourced From: 7500toholte.sbnation.com/2022/2/27/22952095/talking-points-brighton-0-2-aston-villa
Published Date: Sun, 27 Feb 2022 06:00:00 +0000