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• Emery has no complaints after tired Aston Villa lose late on at Brighton

  Unai Emery accepts Aston Villa can have no complaints over their 1-0 loss to Brighton and Hove Albion in the Premier League.

  The Villans fell to a narrow defeat at the Amex Stadium on Sunday as Joao Pedro converted late on after his initial penalty attempt was saved.

  Villa looked sluggish throughout yet were just minutes away from claiming a point that would have further boosted their top-four prospects.

  John McGinn also had a goal ruled out for a marginal offside, but Emery admits his side were not deserving of a point on their travels.

  "We competed but it was not enough," he told BBC Sport. "We weren't strong enough in 90 minutes to deserve anything more than we achieved.

  "Now the most important thing is to rest, to rest today, rest tomorrow, after the match.

  "We are having an amazing season, brilliant, but of course we are at the last chance and we have to try and give everything."

  Villa remain seven points clear of fifth-place Tottenham, albeit having played a game more, after Spurs' 4-2 loss at Liverpool.

  Before focus can turn to the Villans' home match with Liverpool in a week's time, they first travel to Olympiacos for their Europa Conference League semi-final second leg.

  Emery's men have a major task on their hands if they are to reach the final as they trail 4-2 from last week's first leg at Villa Park.

  "We want to put in a good effort on Thursday [against Olympiakos] and on Monday against Liverpool. Now is time to rest," Emery added.

  "We had a lot of players injured and they are recovering. The most important thing is to get players back for balance and to be competitive."

  Victory for Brighton was much needed after going six without a win in the Premier League, failing to score in four of those matches.

  While Roberto De Zerbi was pleased to get back to winning ways, he accepts Brighton were given a helping hand by Villa's quick turnaround in games.

  "To be honest, Villa were not themselves, maybe a little tired," he said. "They are playing in the Europa Conference League and they have a lot of injuries.

  "I am proud because we played a great game against one of the best teams in the Premier League. Playing against Unai Emery's teams is very tough. 

  "We played well, we deserved to win and we could have scored more goals. I think Robin Olsen was the best player for Villa."

• Brighton 1-0 Aston Villa: Villans' top-four hopes stutter after late Pedro header

  Aston Villa missed the chance to close in on a Champions League place after they were beaten 1-0 at Brighton.

  Joao Pedro’s late header settled Sunday's contest at the Amex Stadium, the striker nodding in three minutes from time after Robin Olsen saved his initial penalty.

  With fifth-placed Tottenham travelling to Liverpool later on Sunday, Villa could have taken a huge step towards sealing a place in Europe's top club competition with victory.

  However, Unai Emery’s side remain fourth and seven points above Spurs, who have two games in hand, while Brighton climb to 11th.

  The Seagulls carried the greater threat during a first half of few opportunities, with Simon Adingra stinging Olsen’s palms from distance.

  Villa, who lost Morgan Rogers to injury midway through the half, also had Olsen to thank twice in first-half stoppage time. First, he kept out Adingra’s tame volley from a Pedro cross before also thwarting Pascal Gross from close range.

  The hosts continued to look the more likely to break the deadlock after the interval. Olsen denied Pedro, while Julio Enciso fired narrowly over from distance.

  Brighton thought they had taken the lead inside the final quarter when Gross turned in Igor’s cross from inside the six-yard box, but the goal was disallowed after a VAR review adjudged Gross to be offside.

  The visitors also had the ball in the net at the other end, though the offside flag denied John McGinn, who tucked away after the ball ricocheted kindly for him in the six-yard box.

  However, it was Brighton who got the breakthrough in the 87th minute. Olsen guessed correctly to keep out Pedro’s penalty after Ezri Konsa tripped Adingra, but the Sweden international was helpless as the striker headed home the rebound to give Brighton victory.

  Pedro hits the 20 mark

  Brighton arrived in this contest off the back of successive defeats, and looking to avoid three on the spin for the first time since March 2022.

  The Seagulls had also lost each of their previous five Premier League meetings with Villa, who could have secured their Champions League qualification with a win and a Spurs loss at Liverpool.

  Gross almost broke the deadlock on his 200th Premier League start for Brighton – his strike ruled out following a VAR review – becoming only the second player to reach that figure after Lewis Dunk.

  However, Pedro turned out to be the match winner as he became the first player to score 20 goals in all competitions in a single season for the Seagulls since Glenn Murray in 2016/17 (23).

  Toothless Villa stumble

  Villa – who were stunned by Olympiacos in the Europa Conference League on Thursday – were unable to capitalise on their opportunity to potentially secure their top-four place following an uncharacteristically quiet outing in front of goal.

  Ollie Watkins had scored six goals in his last four appearances against Brighton – his highest tally against a single opponent – and had been directly involved in eight goals in his last five Premier League away games (scoring six and assisting two).

  However, the England striker was unable to build on that momentum in a game where Villa registered just two shots on goal.

  That was their lowest tally in a Premier League match since May 2016 against Newcastle United (also two), while they only registered fewer on record against Manchester United in August 2005 (one).

  They should still have enough to secure a top-four place, but Emery’s team need to get over their hump.

• Arteta lauds Saka hunger after Arsenal put pressure on Man City

  Mikel Arteta lauded the consistency of Bukayo Saka and his increased hunger to win after Saturday's routine 3-0 victory over Bournemouth at Etihad Stadium.

  The Gunners swept aside Bournemouth as Saka's penalty opened the scoring before late second-half finishes from Leandro Trossard and Declan Rice sealed another much-needed victory.

  With two games to spare, Arsenal have equalled their Premier League win tally from last season (26), only in 1930-31 (28) and 1970-71 (29) have the Gunners won more games in a single top-flight campaign.

  That is in large part thanks to Saka, who became the first player to score 20 goals for Arsenal in a season (all competitions) since Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in 2019-20 (29 goals).

  He is also the first Englishman to do so for the club since Theo Walcott in 2012-13 (21 goals) and Arteta was quick to praise star winger Saka.

  "The level of consistency compared to last year is very similar," the Arsenal manager said at his post-match press conference. 

  "There are areas he's better in. I see a different edge to him in the way he competes. He loves winning more than three months ago."

  Kai Haverz won Saka's first-half penalty, though Bournemouth may feel the Arsenal forward triggered contact with goalkeeper Mark Travers.

  The Cherries also had a goal disallowed at 2-0 down when Dominic Solanke was adjudged to have fouled David Raya before Antoine Semenyo turned into an empty net.

  A lengthy VAR check followed both decisions but Arteta refused to comment on either incident, suggesting he had not seen them back yet.

  "The honest answer is I haven't seen any of the incidents because I knew you were going to ask me," he added.

  "They said do you want to see it and I said no so I can give you an honest answer!"

  All 10 of Arsenal’s outfield starters attempted at least one shot in this game, the first time this has happened in a Premier League game for the Gunners since January 2022 against Burnley.

  Gabriel Magalhaes almost got in the act but his strike was ruled out late on for offside, before Rice managed to add gloss to a dominant performance.

  Rice was playing for West Ham last season as Arsenal capitulated in the title race against Man City, though the England international is hoping for a different outcome this time around.

  "I wasn't here last year but I can sense that we are embracing it," the Arsenal midfielder told TNT Sports as Man City prepare to host Wolves later on Saturday.

  "Man City are a machine and they don't lose many. Anything can happen in football. Surprises can happen and miracles can happen and we just have to stay focused."

  Arsenal will continue to go about their business in hope of Man City slipping up, the Gunners have won 14 of their 16 Premier League games in 2024 (D1 L1), scoring 51 goals and conceding just eight in reply.

  Indeed, the Gunners have won the most points in the competition since the turn of the year (43), but Arteta's side remain reliant on favours from elsewhere in the title race.