Brighton and Hove Albion alternative player ratings after Aston Villa loss - according to the stats experts

Graham Potter's Brighton delivered an improved display from their 3-0 loss to Burnley last week but it was never enough to get anything from the delayed kick-off against Villa.

Gerrard's men arrived late due to traffic issues but they started well and Matty Cash fired them into an early lead with fine low finish from the edge of the box.

Ollie Watkins then scored his first goal since December in the 68th minute to wrap up Villa’s victory. The Villa striker latched on to a long through ball, got the wrong side of Albion defender Joel Veltman and tucked his finish beyond Rob Sanchez.

Albion had their chances as Alexis Mac Allister rattled the bar in the first half and second half substitute Danny Welbeck directed his header wide from Solly March's cross.

It was a niggly that game that lacked momentum and saw nine bookings.

Potter had no issues with the officiating after watching Brighton slip to a third straight league defeat without scoring.

“Both teams were competitive, both teams wanted to win and lost the previous matches,” he added.

“There was a desire there to compete and to win, it was there from our guys and those from Aston Villa, so no problems (with the referee).”

Scroll down and click through to see how the Albion players rated, according to whoscored.com.