Fabian Hürzeler has had more enjoyable weeks. After being dumped out of the FA Cup quarter-finals here 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 past two games, yet another for Marco Asensio, and Donyell Malen’s first for the club gave Aston Villa a crucial win in the battle for a top‑five finish.
It meant Unai Emery’s side moved above Brighton and vastly improved their chances of matching their achievement last season of qualifying for the Champions League. They still have to play the fourth- and fifth-placed Manchester City and Newcastle in the run-in after hosting Forest on Saturday. Yet 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.
