Six things we learned from Brighton's friendly against Aston Villa

The Premier League is currently in the middle of a six week hiatus for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar and Brighton are taking advantage of the break with a warm winter training block in the Middle East.

Albion were without eight first-team players who had been competing in the biggest global sporting event this winter, with Alexis Mac Alister the only player still left competing in the tournament with Argentina.

The two sides shared the spoils in an entertaining game behind closed doors, with Brighton unlucky not to win the game, after a late Lewis Dunk own goal denied Roberto De Zerbi’s side victory.

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Following a goalless first half, Danny Ings gave Aston Villa the lead after goalkeeper Jason Steele mis-controlled a pass across his box, allowing the striker to roll the ball into an empty net in the 68th minutes.

Less then seven minutes later, Deniz Undav drilled in an equaliser for the Seagulls from the edge of the area. The German forward then gave his side the lead with nine minutes to play, turning in a half volley from a Jack Hinshelwood headed through ball.

Villa pulled level with five minutes to spare, after the Albion skipper turned the ball into his net following a well-worked free-kick routine from the Villains.

De Zerbi’s side will now continue their preparations for the return of English domestic football in 13 days time, when they face League One Charlton in the EFL Cup fourth round.

Here are the six things we learned about Brighton from today’s friendly.

1) Struggled to play out from the back without key players

De Zerbi starting line-up contained a number of fringe squad players and youth team products, due to a club record number of first-team players being called up for World Cup duty. This did not stop the Albion manager from demanding his style of football to be played out in the Dubai desert, as Brighton continuously looked to start attacks from their goalkeeper, moving the ball quickly with short, intricate passing patterns to the other end of the pitch. From the beginning of the game, it was clear this would not be as slick a procedure without players such as Robert Sanchez, Alexis Mac Allister and Moises Caicedo and it took until the second half for Brighton to really impose themselves on the game.

2) Unlikely to see Pascal Gross at left-back again

One of the most interesting line-up choices by De Zerbi was to start one of Brighton best attacking threats at left back. Gross has been in fine form this season, playing mainly as a second striker or in advanced wide position, scoring five and assisting two. However, he looked uncomfortable and limited in a defensive position as part of a back four during the first-half. De Zerbi was clearly not a fan and moved the German to a quarterback, deep-lying midfielder role after the break, helping Brighton to gain greater control of possession.

3) Julio Enciso a lively attacking threat – who doesn't mind pulling the trigger

The 18-year-old started to show his talents before the World Cup break when he came off the bench in Brighton’s memorable 4-1 win over Chelsea at the Amex Stadium and did so again in tonight's friendly. The Paraguayan forward was Albion’s only attacking threat in the first-half with his direct running, pace and trickery and continued to link up well with Undav in the second half. The 18-year-old is also no afraid to shoot from distance and is likely to have earned himself in the starting line-up against Charlton off the back of this performance.

4) Undav a tireless worker who needed and deserved his two goals

The German forward will have been disappointed with his first-half of the season. After two impressive goal-scoring seasons at Belgium club Union SG, the 26-year-old has played second fiddle to Danny Welbeck since arriving on the south coast. However, with the England striker going off injured in the first-half, Undav lead the line brilliantly in the second with his clever movement and tireless pressing out of possession. He will also be pleased with his two goals, which he finished well, and will hope this performance will act as launch pad for the rest of the season.

5) Good opportunity for young players

A mid-season friendly against Premier League opposition was the perfect opportunity for De Zerbi to assess the players of the future against high-quality opposition. The Italian gave a starting place to 19-year-old Andrew Moran, who looked assured in the middle of the park, and brought on Jan Paul van Hecke early in the first-half, with the Dutch defender looking strong against the threat of Ollie Watkins and Danny Ings. Cam Peupion also replaced Danny Welbeck early in the game and the 20-year-old Aussie forward came close to scoring at the end of the first-half, but had his edge-of-the-area strike comfortably saved by Robin Olsen. Odel Offiah (20) was also lively down the left-flank in the last 10 minutes, but the stand-out performer was 17-year-old Hinshelwood, who looked incredibly comfortable at the elite-level. His second-half appearance changed the game for Albion as he consistently won the ball in advanced areas and distributed the ball with great quality and ease. The future certainly looks bright at the Amex Stadium.

6) Worries about Adam Webster and Danny Welbeck

A major concern for De Zerbi coming out the friendly will be two of his first-team players coming off early with injuries. Welbeck was taken off after 27 minutes, following treatment on the pitch and Webster followed suit eight minutes later, limping off in discomfort. Both players have been imperative to Brighton’s strong start to the season and would have been essential over the Christmas period while the World Cup players were brought back into the fold. De Zerbi will be hoping these knocks are nothing serious.