McGinn apologises to Villa fans but provides hope despite Brighton horror show

Aston Villa captain John McGinn's apology to the fans: "Going away in the Premier League, we obviously apologise to the supporters, it's not easy to travel, costs a lot of money, takes a lot of time. And they don't want to come here and see their team lose by four goals before half-time"

John McGinn apologised to the Aston Villa fans after the 4-0 thumping at Brighton, but the team's captain is refusing to hit the panic button just yet.

Jack Hinshelwood struck twice in two first-half minutes as rampant Brighton ruthlessly exploited Villa with four goals in the opening 45 minutes, while midfielder Joao Gomes was sent off on his league debut five minutes shy of half-time to add to Villa's woes.

With Brighton four goals up and Villa a man down, much of the second period was played at a pedestrian pace, but McGinn was full of praise for the character his side showed in not conceding in the second half before providing some hope after some similar poor starts in the past.

"We started the game very well," McGinn said. "We had the chance to go ahead with Emi Buendia. We were the ones to create the chances. But, playing at the highest level, when you make a mistake, they happen.

He added: "Going away in the Premier League, we obviously apologise to the supporters, it's not easy to travel, costs a lot of money, takes a lot of time. And they don't want to come here and see their team lose by four goals before half-time.

"But on the flipside, 4-0 down at the Amex with 10 men, we had to stand up in the second half and the squad of players in there, we had a chance to puff our chests out, be men and fight and we did that.

"We're obviously angry and disappointed at the result. We set high standards and that's far away from that. However, there's a bit of me that's proud at how we reacted. Today could easily have got away from us and got messy. A lot of pride in the second-half performance.

"After five games last season we had one point. Hopefully this season can go the same way as that."

Sky Sports' Daniel Sturridge : "Brighton absolutely blitzed Aston Villa in the first half. "The intesity they put into the performance, particularly in the first half, was really impressive. "They pressed all over the field and kept the intesity high. Aston Villa couldn't live with it. "They were also very clinical in front of goal. A thoroughly-deserved victory."

Villa also started the 2023/24 season with a heavy 5-1 defeat at St James' Park against Newcastle but recovered to end the season with a fourth-placed finish in the Premier League.

However, Unai Emery was at a loss to explain Villa's first-half collapse at the Amex Stadium.

He said: "We started the first 10-15 minutes very well. Then I can't understand exactly why we lost in 20 minutes all the match and a player.

"But this is the process we have. We know football is not easy, we know four years working here in Villa we have to work in difficult moments as well. Always we recover a good moment. Always came back, with the situation maybe like we have now.