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• Unai Emery savours ‘special’ Villa Park atmosphere in rout of Brighton

  Aston Villa boss Unai Emery feels there is a special atmosphere brewing at Villa Park after his side romped to a remarkable 6-1 win against Brighton.

  A hat-trick from Ollie Watkins and further strikes from Jacob Ramsey and Douglas Luiz, as well as Pervis Estupinan’s own goal, helped Emery’s side secure a 10th successive league win at home.

  Despite Brighton’s Ansu Fati briefly reducing the deficit to 3-1 at the start of the second half, Villa were at their clinical best to leapfrog the Seagulls in the table and extend their winning streak at home.

  Emery said: “We have to feel something special at Villa Park and try to create a positive energy between us and the supporters and try to work on the pitch to connect with them.

  “We want to compete the same at home and away, we will need time to build the team to be consistent but at home we feel strong with our supporters and the energy the supporters are transmitting to us, we need to keep being consistent at home.

  “Ollie Watkins is committed to the club, he is very happy here and we are very happy with him, he works hard every day and tries to learn every day. He did very good work scoring goals and working defensively to help the team.

  “We have to be very demanding and try to improve every day, each match is going to demand different things, we have to be ready and be strong in our work to be successful.”

  Villa blew Brighton away with three quickfire goals in the first half as Watkins scored the opener on 14 minutes with a close-range finish before netting again on 21 minutes with a low effort past Jason Steele at his near post.

  Estupinan’s own goal on 26 minutes put Villa in command before Albion responded when half-time substitute Fati scored his first goal for the club five minutes into the second half.

  However, Watkins completed his hat-trick on 65 minutes with a deflected effort before Ramsey curled home on 85 minutes and Luiz rounded off the scoring seven minutes into injury time to inflict a heavy defeat on the Seagulls.

  Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi said: “Everything [went wrong], we played very bad.

  “It’s not a problem of our physical condition, first and foremost when we lose this type of game it’s my responsibility. If you lose 6-1, the biggest responsibility is of the coach.

  “We are not ready to compete and to play every three days, I’m trying to manage in different ways to keep the physical energy [up].

  “The physical energy is not enough, in football you have to be ready to give your all and your best in the head in the mentality. We can’t lose every tackle, every duel and every second ball otherwise you lose the game in this way.

  “But I believe in my players because I have big confidence in the people inside of my dressing room, we are suffering a lot for this defeat but this can happen sometimes if you are not ready and you have to adapt quickly.

  “We have to learn. We are suffering, it’s a very bad day but maybe one of the most important days – we want to reach this level.”

• Ollie Watkins scores hat-trick as rampant Aston Villa hit Brighton for six

  Ollie Watkins scored a hat-trick as Aston Villa recorded a 10th successive Premier League home win with a 6-1 thumping of Brighton.

  Watkins netted a first-half brace and Pervis Estupinan put through his own net as Villa scored three goals in the space of 13 minutes before the interval to blow Brighton away.

  Striker Watkins completed his hat-trick in the second half and set up substitute Jacob Ramsey for the home side’s fifth goal after Ansu Fati had briefly reduced the deficit before Douglas Luiz completed the scoring deep into added time.

  Victory for Unai Emery’s side extended their winning run to three matches, while Roberto De Zerbi’s Brighton were denied the chance to go joint top of the table following their heaviest defeat under the Italian since he took charge in September last year.

  Brighton spurned a glorious early chance to take lead when Billy Gilmour played a delightful ball into Estupinan, only for Emiliano Martinez to make a crucial save.

  And that miss would prove costly as Villa broke the deadlock in the 14th when Watkins finished from close range after John McGinn’s superb pass released Matty Cash down the right.

  The home side doubled their lead after 21 minutes as Watkins somehow squeezed the ball past Jason Steele at his near post after latching on to Moussa Diaby’s through-ball down the left-hand side of the area.

  Moments later, Villa went close to another as Diaby’s drilled cross from the left was flicked to safety by the boot of Steele.

  The hosts continued to pile forward and looked to have put the game to bed after 26 minutes when Diaby’s shot deflected in off Estupinan as the defender ran back towards his own goal, Steele having denied the Villa man moments earlier.

  Following a dismal first-half performance, Brighton boss De Zerbi made a triple substitution at half-time as Fati, Joao Pedro and Tariq Lamptey all entered the fray.

  The Albion boss was quickly rewarded as Barcelona loanee Fati reduced the deficit after 50 minutes with a close-range finish after Pedro had just kept the ball in play, with the goal awarded following a lengthy VAR check for offside.

  However, Villa dashed any thoughts of a fightback after 65 minutes when McGinn’s pass found Watkins on the edge of the area and the striker’s shot deflected in off Adam Webster, with the ball looping over Seagulls keeper Steele.

  Albion almost scored a second goal in the final 10 minutes as substitute Simon Adingra’s dipping shot was magnificently tipped over the crossbar by Martinez.

  However, Villa scored their fifth after 85 minutes when substitute Ramsey curled a fine effort in off the right-hand post from the edge of the area from Watkins’ pass.

  And there was still time for Villa to add to Brighton’s misery as Luiz rolled the ball into an empty net seven minutes into added time after Steele had denied Watkins when one-on-one to round off a superb display from Emery’s men.

• Matt O’Riley sparks mad scenes at Motherwell with last-gasp winner for Celtic

  Matt O’Riley celebrated his new contract with a winner seven minutes into stoppage time as Celtic edged a 2-1 win over Motherwell after a dramatic finale at Fir Park.

  Blair Spittal had levelled for Motherwell two minutes earlier after substitute Luis Palma grabbed his first Celtic goal in the 87th minute.

  Fans were on the pitch after each of the late goals and missiles flew between the two sets of supporters after O’Riley’s winner.

  The game had been on a knife edge throughout and Scott Bain, deputising for the suspended Joe Hart, made two good saves while the game was goalless.

  O’Riley’s new four-year deal was announced on the morning of the game and he showed his worth by converting a cushioned volley at the back post following Greg Taylor’s cross.

  The victory set Celtic up for the visit of Lazio in the Champions League on Wednesday and delivered another blow to Motherwell, who have now suffered narrow defeats against the top three in successive weeks.

  Celtic had the bulk of the early possession but the only chances in the first quarter came from set-pieces. Spittal came close with an overhead kick and Liam Scales headed wide at the other end.

  Motherwell were looking solid and Kyogo Furuhashi curled wide from 22 yards when Celtic did manage to pass the ball through the lines.

  The home side had the best chance of the half when Spittal’s quick free-kick found Harry Paton’s run. Bain came out to block Paton’s shot with his foot and Celtic cleared the midfielder’s driven cross on the rebound.

  Liam Kelly made his only save of the first half from O’Riley after quick feet from Yang Hyun-jun before Spittal got Motherwell in behind again. However, Brodie Spencer could not find a final ball to capitalise.

  James Forrest replaced Yang at half-time and Celtic began to show more urgency in the final third. Taylor and Gustaf Lagerbielke could not make the most of half chances.

  Motherwell raised their own tempo in possession and had the ball in the net after Bevis Mugabi challenged Bain at a high ball. Stephen O’Donnell hit the ball off Mugabi on the lone before knocking home the rebound and the offside flag went up. Mugabi’s challenge might have been penalised anyway if the wing-back had netted first time.

  Taylor created Celtic’s best chance so far when he won the ball on the edge of the box and set up Daizen Maeda but the Japanese attacker shot over with only Kelly to beat.

  Motherwell responded and Theo Bair volleyed straight at Bain before the goalkeeper’s feet again came to Celtic’s rescue when he blocked Spittal’s effort following Callum Slattery’s through ball.

  The home side looked tired as the game entered the final 10 minutes and Kelly saved Forrest’s header after Palma’s cross.

  Then came the drama. Palma curled just inside the far post from just outside the corner of the box as the ball whipped in between defender Dan Casey and Kelly. Fans spilled on to the track from behind the goal in the Tommy McLean Stand.

  Motherwell found some energy and with plenty of players in the Spittal slotted into the far corner. Dozens of Motherwell fans were suddenly on the pitch and they were barely back in their seats when O’Riley struck and sparked an even bigger pitch invasion.