Marcus Rashford’s revival continued as he set Aston Villa on the way to a comprehensive victory at Brighton.
Rashford, on loan from Manchester United, scored his first two Villa goals in their FA Cup quarter-final win at Preston North End on Sunday.
And the England forward was on the mark for the first time in the Premier League for Villa with a composed finish after a counter-attack from a Brighton corner six minutes after half-time.
Brighton thought they had mounted an instant response when Simon Adingra scrambled home from close range, but the goal was disallowed for Kaoru Mitoma’s handball in the build-up.
Villa wrapped up the win 12 minutes from time when Marco Asensio, on loan from Paris St-Germain, was the beneficiary of unselfish work from Morgan Rogers to beat Bart Verbruggen with an emphatic drive.
In the dying moments of 10 added minutes, Villa added a third when another substitute, Donyell Malen, fired across Verbruggen for his first goal for the club.
It was a result that hurt Brighton’s European ambitions, but keeps Villa in the hunt for a top-four place – with an FA Cup semi-final against Crystal Palace at Wembley and a Champions League quarter-final against PSG to come.