Fabian Hürzeler has had better weeks. After the agony of being dumped out of the FA Cup quarter-finals on Saturday by Nottingham Forest in a penalty shootout, there was more heartache for the Brighton manager as Marcus Rashford’s third goal in his last two matches, yet another for Marco Asensio and Donyell Malen’s first for the club gave Aston Villa a crucial victory in the battle for a top-five finish.
It meant Unai Emery’s side moved above Brighton and vastly improved their chances of matching last season’s achievement of qualifying for the Champions League. They still have to play fourth- and fifth-placed Manchester City and Newcastle in the run-in but after making some shrewd acquisitions in January, including Rashford and Asensio – who now has eight goals for Villa since joining on loan from Paris Saint-Germain – you wouldn’t bet against them doing it.
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