Brighton & Hove Albion beat Aston Villa 4–0 after scoring four times in the first 31 minutes of the 2026–27 Premier League opening weekend.
The match took place on Sunday, 23 August 2026. Brighton’s explosive start effectively settled the contest before half-time, and Aston Villa were unable to recover after conceding four goals in the opening 31 minutes.
The match included an early red card for Aston Villa, leaving them with 10 players. Brighton took advantage and produced the largest winning margin of the opening weekend. Their performance placed them at the top of the table after the first round because their goal difference was plus four.
The four goals also put Brighton into a small piece of Premier League history. They became only the fourth side to score four first-half goals on Matchweek 1, after Bolton Wanderers in 2001, Manchester United in 2007 and Liverpool in 2020.
Jack Hinshelwood and Maxim De Cuyper were among Brighton’s standout performers, with both selected in Alan Shearer’s Matchweek 1 Team of the Week. The result was therefore notable for both its score and its speed.