Brighton pay for profligacy as Aston Villa snatch late 1-1 draw

Brighton's lack of clinical edge proves costly

Brighton may have had 25 shots, eight on target and an expected-goals figure of 3.17, but they were forced to settle for a 1-1 draw against Aston Villa after failing to make their dominance count.

Gabby George's first goal for the club gave them a deserved lead in the 31st minute, but they could not find a second despite creating a total of 15 chances. The result was made all the more frustrating by the manner of Villa's equaliser in the 89th minute, with Brighton unable to defend a corner.

It leaves the new manager, Arturo Ruiz, still searching for his first win of the season.

"Here in our stadium, in these kinds of games we cannot lose two points," Ruiz said. "We need to get three points in 100% of these games."

The performance was encouraging, but the finishing was not, and Brighton remain 10th in the table with two points from their opening three matches.