Ollie Watkins scores a hat-trick as Aston Villa thrash Brighton

Ollie Watkins scored a hat trick as Aston Villa routed Brighton 6-1 in the Premier League on Saturday. It was Watkins’ second hat trick of the season, having also netted three against Hibernian in the Europa Conference League in August. An own goal by Pervis Estupinan and strikes from Jacob Ramsey and Douglas Luiz completed Villa’s win, while on-loan Barcelona forward Ansu Fati scored a consolation goal for Brighton. Both teams had enjoyed impressive starts to the season, with Brighton going into the game at Villa Park third in the standings. But Villa, which started the game in sixth, came out on top to inflict a third loss in four games in all competitions for Brighton. Watkins scored his first in the 14th minute and added a second in the 21st. Estupinan’s own goal in the 26th gave Villa 3-0 lead going in at halftime. Fati pulled one back for Brighton five minutes after the break, but it didn’t spark a comeback. Watkins completed his hat trick in the 65th, with Ramsey making it 5-1 in the 85th. Luiz piled on the misery for Brighton with a goal in the seventh minute of stoppage time. Read More Aston Villa players to keep wearing ‘wet’ kit despite complaints Aston Villa women ‘dreading’ WSL opener due to ‘wet kit’ design error