Ollie Watkins was in his prime for Aston Villa as they thrashed Brighton, scoring three goals each in both halves on Saturday.
Brighton, who have now conceded in 11 straight Premier League games could only score a goal as Ansu Fati sparked a match of hope in the beginning of the second half.
Unai Emery’s side scored three goals in 12 first-half minutes to stun high-flying Brighton.
Watkins got the second and the third goal of the match within seven minutes, widening the deficit.
Then he scored a deflected strike (65) to secure his hat-trick in front of watching England boss Gareth Southgate before Jacob Ramsey (85) and Douglas Luiz (90+7) added late goals to seal a third straight league win for the hosts.
On his side’s impressive home record, Villa boss Emery said: “We have to feel something special at Villa Park and try to create a positive energy between us and the supporters and try to work on the pitch to connect with them.
“We want to compete the same at home and away, we will need time to build the team to be consistent but at home, we feel strong with our supporters and the energy the supporters are transmitting to us, we need to keep being consistent at home.”
