Villa's best run of form is being timed to perfection

VILLA produced a statement result on the south coast by defeating Brighton 3-0 at the Amex Stadium.

- BY JOHN TOWNLEY

The win propelled them into the Premier League's top seven ahead of a crucial clash with fellow Champions League hopefuls Nottingham Forest tomorrow.

Brighton, who began the game two points ahead of Villa, fell behind in the 51st minute when Marcus Rashford opened the scoring.

Substitutes Marco Asensio and Donyell Malen then sealed the victory with late goals. Here are Wednesday night's talking points.

Villa on a record winning run under Emery

The result was the most important thing, with Ezri Konsa admitting it was a "must-win" game.

But there were several added positives - an improved goal difference, a fourth successive clean sheet and first league goals for Rashford and Malen since they joined the club.

By extending their winning streak to six matches in all competitions, Villa are now enjoying their best run under manager Unai Emery.

As he sat down for his post-match press conference, Emery took a swig from the Monster canned drink placed in front of him. "Energy for Saturday," quipped Villa's director of football operations, Damian Vidagany.

Indeed, another five games in the next 17 days await - but Villa have certainly got momentum.

"We knew this was an important game, it was must-win," said defender Konsa. "We came to win and that's what we did. (Qualifying for) the Champions League is the main goal. We'll focus on Saturday, another big one for us.