Brighton defeated 10-women Aston Villa 4-2 in a pulsating clash at Broadfield Stadium to move into second place in the WSL for at least 24 hours.
Scorers: Parris 15′, Bremer 38′, Kirby (pen) 79′ , Agyemang 90+4′; Daly 13′, (pen) 55′
Villa opened the scoring in the 13th minute, and it came via their most reliable source, Rachel Daly. The England star tapped in from less than six yards out after a cut back found her.
Their lead lasted just two minutes, however, as Brighton roared back. The goal came from Nikita Parris, who scored her first goal for the club since her move from Manchester United with a poacher’s finish.
Brighton then took the lead seven minutes before half time with a great goal from Pauline Bremer. She latched onto a neat through ball from Parris, and finished brilliantly with her left foot.
Villa equalised in the 55th minute from the penalty spot, and it was Daly again. Guro Bergsvand gave it away with a poor challenge, and the 2022/23 top scorer made no mistake from 12 yards.
The game reached its conclusion in the 79th minute when Villa’s Paula Tomas barged into Kiko Seike off the ball in the box, leading to a penalty and a red card.
Fran Kirby stepped up to slot home, before a 10 minute added time, where Poppy Pattinson was sent off and Michelle Agyemang got a fourth.
Brighton are now level on points with Chelsea and Manchester United at the top, whose scheduled game for Sunday has been postponed. As for Villa, they remain winless.