Aston Villa secured their third Premier League victory of the season at the expense of Brighton and Hove Albion on Saturday, coming from behind to run out 2-1 winners.
Adam Webster put the visitors ahead 21 minutes into the game before Jack Grealish helped the hosts draw level on the stroke of half-time.
Matt Targett’s 94th-minute strike made Villa Park erupt, ensuring manager Dean Smith celebrated his one-year anniversary in charge with a valuable victory.
Things might have been different had Brighton ended the game with 11 men, though, but Aaron Mooy’s 35th-minute red card handed the Midland outfit a huge advantage.
Grealish called the shots from start to finish, drawing the foul that resulted in the Australian’s second yellow card.
After helping the hosts restore parity, the Villa skipper and star turned provider for the late winner, and the watching Three Lions manager Gareth Southgate would have been very impressed.
It’s a sentiment BBC pundit Garth Crooks – who included Grealish in his team of the week – shares.
“It took a special performance from Jack Grealish to turn this game from defeat to victory – England manager Gareth Southgate watched this match and must have been impressed,” Crooks enthused.
“I said the last time I selected the Villa captain for my team of the week that he was knocking on the international door. Now he’s kicking it down.”
Having scored just once in his first 41 Premier League appearances, Saturday’s goal ensured Grealish scored in back-to-back Premier League games for the first time ever, and should he continue to remain influential for Villa going forward, he definitely will be on the plane to the European Championships next summer.
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