On a night when James Milner made history, equalling his former teammate Gareth Barry’s Premier League appearance record, his former club, Aston Villa, created more unwanted headlines for Fabian Hürzeler. A Tyrone Mings header, deflected in by Jack Hinshelwood with four minutes of normal time to play, on the defender’s 200th Villa appearance, was sufficient to down Brighton and extend their miserable run.
It said everything about a poor Villa display that Unai Emery was unmoved by the goal. Brighton had looked most likely to score, Ferdi Kadioglu cracking an effort against the crossbar and Milner going close late on. For Hürzeler, the 32-year-old German feeling the heat, it is now one win in their past 13 league matches.
Both teams came into this game in need of a lift, though Brighton’s need was perhaps more pressing. Defeat at home to rivals Crystal Palace last time out only augmented the argument against Hürzeler, with some Brighton supporters singing against their head coach. Thomas Frank’s departure from Tottenham further served to remind the fragility of the modern-day manager. For so long Brighton have appeared almost foolproof but are the German’s days numbered?
Hürzeler seemed happy to make big decisions. Carlos Baleba, booked within a couple of minutes for a lazy challenge on Morgan Rogers, was hooked after 22 minutes, Milner entering in his place to warm applause from all sides of the stadium. This was Milner’s 653rd top-flight appearance, matching the record held by Barry. Presumably, Hürzeler felt keeping Baleba on was not a gamble worth taking, at least not in the current predicament. The midfielder trudged into the away dugout, dragging his blue-and-white striped shirt over his face as he took his seat.
