Milner Hits Career Milestone but Brighton's Struggles Continue After Late Aston Villa Winner

By Christian Amegbor
Feb Thu, 2026
in Sports

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On the night James Milner equalled former teammate Gareth Barry's Premier League record, his former club Aston Villa delivered a big message to Fabian Hürzeler.

Tyrone Mings' goal, which deflected past Jack Hinshelwood four minutes from time, was enough to beat Brighton and extend their lead.

He was not disappointed by Villa's poor performance, and Unai Emery was not happy when the goal was scored, although he could not hide his delight at the victory that took them to 50 points with 12 games remaining.

Brighton looked like they could have scored, Ferdi Kadioglu trying to attack Milner's crossbar and testing Emi Martínez with a curling shot, but it was their first goal in 13 league games.

Hürzeler's late effort was a wonder. "We have to pick ourselves up again and look for the next opportunity," he said. "We have to take responsibility for the result, especially me.

We know the reality of where we are now, and in these circumstances, you have to stick together and work hard.

Both teams come into this game needing a lift, although Brighton's need is perhaps greater. The defeat at home to Crystal Palace last time out exacerbated the row with Hürzeler, when some Brighton fans booed the manager.

The departure of Thomas Frank from Tottenham is a further reminder of the weaknesses of modern management. For a long time, Brighton looked unbeatable, but are Hürzeler's days over?

He was happy to make big decisions. Carlos Baleba, who was booked within minutes for a challenge on Morgan Rogers, was substituted after 22 minutes, Milner receiving praise from all sides of the pitch for his 653rd top-flight appearance.

Although we didn't win, it was still a special night, Hürzeler said of Milner, who has reached a crucial point. He is a role model for the younger players. He is a good player.

He is very polite. He is a pleasure to work with and we are grateful to have him in our team, not only as a player but also as a person.

Hürzeler felt that continuing with Baleba was not a game worth playing, at least not in the conditions his team was in. Baleba entered the away team, pulling his blue and white shirt over his face as he sat down.

In the end, it was a bad decision by the referee [Peter Bankes] to give him a yellow card, a bad decision," said the Brighton manager. "We have to avoid a second yellow card and protect the young player.

I've seen these mistakes many times in the Premier League and 99% of the time they don't give a yellow card. I honestly don't understand.

The first chance to score came late in the first half, Emi Buendia's shot deflected off Joel Veltman and went wide. The Holte End half thought Bart Verbruggen had hit the ball but it went wide.

Villa tried to get past Brighton, but Emery was happy with the result which saw them move five points clear of fourth-placed Manchester United in the table, ahead of fifth-placed Chelsea. We need to win, he said. How? We just need to get our confidence back and get a result.

Kadioglu produced a stunning moment of quality when he played the ball, although Villa keeper Emi Martinez was the better player. Danny Welbeck played the ball to Kadioglu from 20 yards and the energetic Turkish goalkeeper slotted it into the net. Martinez's fingers were on the injury he had gotten.

Minutes before he could have scored, Mings had the chance to play in Harry Howell's cross for Brighton.

Just when the game looked like it was going to be a dramatic draw, Mings got in front of the post and headed in Bailey's corner to find the winner through Hinshelwood.

The games were so tight that if it had been 1-0 to them, everyone would have said we had failed, said Mings. But luckily we got the result we deserved.