It was all an afternoon to forget for Roberto De Zerbi’s men as an Ollie Watkins hat-trick fired Aston Villa past Albion, writes Anujit Vijayakumar.

It was a fifth consecutive loss to the Villains - and a thumping 6-1 defeat at Villa Park.

Watkins fired the hosts ahead in the 14th minute after a well-orchestrated move between Moussa Diaby and John McGinn enabled the Villa skipper McGinn, to find full-back Matty Cash’s run-in behind Kaoru Mitoma with a through ball, before the Polish international squared it to Watkins, who slotted it home.

The English international proceeded to agonise the Seagulls as he capitalised on an error by Joel Veltman with a clinical finish from the left side of the box to bag himself a brace and double the Claret and Blues’ lead for the afternoon.

The first half progressively worsened for Albion as another sequence of events in the final third by the Villains forwards resulted in an own goal by Estupinan, via deflection off a Diaby shot, albeit it was riddled with controversy following what appeared to be a foul on Solly March.

In an effort to change the trajectory of the game, the Italian manager made a trifecta of changes in the form of Ansu Fati, Tariq Lamptey and Joao Pedro. The substitutions paid dividends despite it being short lived, as Joao Pedro and Ansu Fati combined inside the 18-yard box, following a moment of brilliance from Pedro on the left wing, to pull one back for Albion in the 50th minute.

Just as the Seagulls faithful believed they were back in the mix, Watkins scored his third of the afternoon with another neat finish in the 65th minute, bagging his second hat-trick of the season.

The Villa onslaught continued as substitute Jacob Ramsey curled one in with a stellar finish right outside the box with his finessed shot finding the back of the net in the 85th minute.

Douglas Luiz put the nail in the coffin as he tidied up an effort by Ollie Watkins to put Villa up ahead by five and scoring their sixth of the afternoon in the 97th minute.

Watkins’ presence was pivotal to the Lions’ victory, with the 27-year-old having now scored seven goals for the season. In tandem, it was his sixth consecutive goal against the seagulls in his last four appearances against them.

Villa’s ball retention in the middle of the park was vital to their victory. The Lions’ aggression, determination to regain possession, hard work, and desire for victory superseded Albion’s, who were left in disarray within the first 45 minutes of the game.

Albion’s press was rendered ineffective with the constant movement and positioning of Boubacar Kamara, Douglas Luiz and John McGinn. As expected, Villa’s compact mid-block in the second half enabled them to counterattack, scoring two more and enhancing their lead in the process, thereby ensuring Unai Emery’s men stand victorious.

With little to no time left to reflect, De Zerbi’s men must now turn their focus to Marseille as they prepare for another strenuous midweek fixture, when they travel to Marseille. Albion’s defensive woes persist and has been the achilles heel for the seagulls, whose hunt for a clean sheet this season continues.