João Gomes was sent off before half-time in Brighton’s 4–0 win over Aston Villa during the 2026–27 Premier League opening weekend.
Gomes was dismissed five minutes before the interval at the Amex Stadium on 23 August 2026. The red card came during a match Brighton already dominated, having scored four times in the first 31 minutes.
The sending-off made Gomes the first player dismissed in the first half of a Premier League debut since Samba Diakité was sent off for Queens Park Rangers against Fulham in 2012. Gomes had joined Villa during the summer from Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Brighton’s goals came from Jack Hinshelwood, Maxim De Cuyper and an own goal by Victor Lindelöf, with Hinshelwood scoring twice. Villa’s defeat was therefore shaped by both Brighton’s unusually rapid scoring burst and the early dismissal that left the visitors with ten players.