BRIGHTON, England: Marcus Rashford scored his first goal for Aston Villa in the English Premier League in a comfortable 3-0 win over Brighton early this morning, which saw the visitors leapfrog the hosts in the table.
Villa jumped to seventh place with 48 points, one point behind Chelsea who host Tottenham Hotspur early tomorrow morning, while Brighton are one point behind in eighth place.
With the title race and the fight to avoid relegation already decided, qualification for Europe is still on the cards for Villa, who are playing their first league match since March 8.
“We know this is an important game for us, it’s a must-win,” Villa defender Ezri Konsa told Sky Sports.
“We came to win and that’s what we did. The Champions League is the main target.”
Since their last league outing, Villa have reached the Champions League quarter-finals and the FA Cup semi-finals, with Rashford, on loan from Manchester United, scoring twice in a 3-0 win over Preston North End on Sunday.
Rashford, who was not needed at United, opened the scoring six minutes after the break.
Morgan Rogers played a long pass and Rashford reacted calmly, touching the ball once before firing past opposing goalkeeper Bert Verbruggen from outside the penalty area.
“He seems to be smiling again. He now seems to be enjoying football again,” Konsa said.