Aston Villa and Brighton share the spoils in thrilling 2-2 draw: Lamptey and Rogers on target for both sides.

Aston Villa and Brighton and Hove Albion battled it out to a thrilling 2-2 draw at Villa Park, with both teams earning a well-deserved point.

Just one spot in the table and two points separates the two teams and that closeness was clear to see throughout the game, as both sides looked equally matched across all fronts.

Villa's misery from the resounding loss to Newcastle looked like it might carry over into this fixture following Simon Adingra's early opener, only for Ollie Watkins to score from the penalty spot to level proceedings.

The hosts were awarded the spot-kick - following a lengthy VAR review - after Joao Pedro kicked the back of Morgan Rogers' legs in the box, just moments after the Villa forward saw a separate claim waved away.

Momentum was with Unai Emery's side following the equaliser and they quickly made it count after the break through Rogers, who tucked a shot neatly into the bottom corner after linking up with Watkins.

The game looked to be petering out until the introduction of Kaoru Mitoma and Georginio Rutter sparked Brighton into life, with the former playing a major role in Tariq Lamptey's stunner that levelled the game with under 10-minutes to go.

Brighton's winless run now extends to seven games with the draw but Fabian Hurzeler will likely take positives from the performance after witnessing his side battle back in the second half.

Meanwhile, Emery and his Villa side might view this one as two points dropped instead of just one gained, especially after seeing Watkins' late effort sail over the bar with virtually the last kick of the game.

Story of the match in stats...

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