Unai Emery did nothing to deny that Ollie Watkins had refused to play for Aston Villa in their sobering 4-0 defeat by Brighton at the Amex on Sunday. The head coach had a selection crisis up front with Brian Madjo and Tammy Abraham injured. However, he did not include Watkins in the matchday squad as the England striker considers a move to Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia.
Emery was forced to rely on the attacking midfielder Emiliano Buendía as an emergency striker and his team disappeared without trace on the south coast. They were 4-0 down after 31 minutes and had their new signing João Gomes sent off on his debut in the 40th minute. Gomes kicked up and out at the Brighton striker Georginio Rutter after being dispossessed by him.
