Aston Villa captain John McGinn apologises to fans but provides hope despite Brighton horror show
Aston Villa captain John McGinn's apology to the fans: "Going away in the Premier League, we obviously apologise to the supporters, it's not easy to travel, costs a lot of money, takes a lot of time. And they don't want to come here and see their team lose by four goals before half-time"
Sunday 23 August 2026 20:03, UK
John McGinn apologised to the Aston Villa fans after the 4-0 thumping at Brighton, but the team's captain is refusing to hit the panic button just yet.
Jack Hinshelwood struck twice in two first-half minutes as rampant Brighton ruthlessly exploited Villa with four goals in the opening 45 minutes, while midfielder Joao Gomes was sent off on his league debut five minutes shy of half-time to add to Villa's woes.
With Brighton four goals up and Villa a man down, much of the second period was played at a pedestrian pace, but McGinn was full of praise for the character his side showed in not conceding in the second half before providing some hope after some similar poor starts in the past.
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"We started the game very well," McGinn said. "We had the chance to go ahead with Emi Buendia. We were the ones to create the chances. But, playing at the highest level, when you make a mistake, they happen.
"The goals we conceded were poor, there's no getting away from that."
He added: "Going away in the Premier League, we obviously apologise to the supporters, it's not easy to travel, costs a lot of money, takes a lot of time. And they don't want to come here and see their team lose by four goals before half-time.
"But on the flipside, 4-0 down at the Amex with 10 men, we had to stand up in the second half and the squad of players in there, we had a chance to puff our chests out, be men and fight and we did that.
"We're obviously angry and disappointed at the result. We set high standards and that's far away from that. However, there's a bit of me that's proud at how we reacted. Today could easily have got away from us and got messy. A lot of pride in the second-half performance.
"After five games last season we had one point. Hopefully this season can go the same way as that."
Emery at a loss to explain Villa's first-half collapse
Villa also started the 2023/24 season with a heavy 5-1 defeat at St James' Park against Newcastle but recovered to end the season with a fourth-placed finish in the Premier League.
However, Unai Emery was at a loss to explain Villa's first-half collapse at the Amex Stadium.
He said: "We started the first 10-15 minutes very well. Then I can't understand exactly why we lost in 20 minutes all the match and a player.
"But this is the process we have. We know football is not easy, we know four years working here in Villa we have to work in difficult moments as well. Always we recover a good moment. Always came back, with the situation maybe like we have now.
"The response on the field in the second half, I'm really happy. The players they didn't give up, they worked it, showed good commitment and kept going."
Villa have endured a summer exodus since winning the Europa League and qualifying for the Champions League through a fourth-placed finish.
Key trio Ezri Konsa, Youri Tielemans and Morgan Rogers have all been sold, while there is ongoing talk goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez and Ollie Watkins will join them.
Emery, who selected Buendia, Ross Barkley and full debutant George Hemmings as his attacking options on the south coast, said: "We made some mistakes, they scored the goals and in 25 minutes we lost everything. Emotionally as well a little bit we lost.
"We lost a very important three points, but it's something the last three years - at the beginning until the transfer window finishes - we had as well some problems, like we are having now.
"The players that are here today, they are keeping the mentality I want for the team - to be always not complaining and not blaming and trying to be passionate as well, even with a bad result like today."
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Neville: Villa have to keep hold of Emery
Sky Sports' Gary Neville on The Gary Neville Podcast:
"The goals that Villa conceded were horrific, but you looked at the Villa team as it was announced and you looked at the Villa bench and you were like, they've had the heart ripped out of it," Neville told The Gary Neville podcast.
"You talk about who's left, Digne, Tielemans, Rogers, Konsa… I mean the experience that they've lost there.
"The big thing that I was thinking during that match at 4-0 was they've got to keep Unai Emery.
"Is Unai Emery going to think when he's looking, is he going to think hang on a minute, I can't be associated with this.
"Hopefully not, because I really want Villa to do well and I want Unai Emery to stay there, because I love the idea of different teams breaking into the Champions League places, and watching Villa in the last couple of seasons has been a joy.
"I love Unai Emery and the way he works, the way his teams play, and it's great to see them from where they were 10 years ago when they were in the Championship, so yeah it's a brilliant journey that they've been on getting into this position.
"But this could go quite quickly, but they've got to hold on to the manager. They've somehow got to get some players in this week.
"There's talk of Goretzka, so if they can get three or four in this week and Emery does have a habit of being able to get players in.
"He's probably the best manager in the league from a point of view of overall record and his experience, so absolutely you'd want to play for him, and Villa are in a great position. They're gonna have a lot of good games this season.
"That was a shock seeing that, well done to Brighton, but yeah that was a big shock, and my immediate nervousness for Aston Villa is keeping their manager."
'Emery needs clarity over Villa squad'
Sky Sports' Lee Hendrie at the Amex Stadium:
"The damage was done in the first half by Brighton.
"The only positive Aston Villa can take from this is they didn't concede a goal in the second half.
"However, it was a frustrating afternoon for Unai Emery. He will now just want some certainty over who will be at the football club come the end of the transfer window.
"It must be so difficult for him, at the moment because the transfer window is all he is being asked about. It's a big distraction for Aston Villa."
Your views: 'Villa's recruitment has been shocking'
Jake: I thought Aston Villa were in for a slow start but not to this extent. The recruitment has been shocking. You don't sell your best players and expect to be fine.
Jack: Not even a Villa fan but that might be the worst start to a season ever from a team expected to be in and around European spots - feel for the fans that travelled down there for that. A hard one to take.
Alex: Brilliant Brighton performance so far but isn't this a perfect example of how bad the financial rules in football are? Villa won a European trophy and qualified for the Champions League yet their squad has been torn apart this summer and this is what they've got left...
Jamie: Villa have sold Emery's team from under him and not replaced them. This was almost an inevitability. It's barely a shock. I think Emery could end up walking if they don't recruit in the coming days.
Mikey: What a horror show for the Villains! The worst performance of the weekend, in a sea of bad performances by top sides!
THAV22: Worst possible start to the season. No recognised striker, players have not been replaced who were sold, awful debut from Gomes.
Bennett 69: An absolute shambles. We are selling all our best players. We just look devoid of any ideas.
Opta stats: Villa blown away by Brighton
Brighton led Aston Villa by four goals after just 31 minutes at the Amex. This is the fastest a team have been 4-0 up in their opening game of a Premier League season since Manchester United in 2006/07 (19 mins vs Fulham).
Brighton are only the fourth side to score four goals in the first half of their opening game of a Premier League season, after Bolton in 2001/02 (vs Leicester), Manchester United in 2006/07 (vs Fulham) and Liverpool in 2019/20 (vs Norwich).
Joao Gomes is the first player to receive a first0half red card on his Premier League debut for a club since QPR's Samba Diakite against Fulham in February 2012.
Aston Villa became only the second team in Premier League history to concede four goals, receive a red card and score an own goal in the first half of a match, after Southampton against Manchester United in February 2021.
Brighton created 3.4 xG from open play, their most on record in a Premier League match (since 2021-22).
