Aston Villa suffered the worst possible start to their Premier League campaign, conceding four goals and being reduced to ten men in the first half of their match against Brighton at the Amex Stadium.
Brighton ran riot against Unai Emery's new-look Villa side, scoring four times in the opening 31 minutes to leave the Spanish manager fuming on the touchline.
Villa's trouble began eight minutes in, when Maxim De Cuyper's effort struck the post before bouncing off centre-back Victor Lindelof and into the net. Ten minutes later, De Cuyper scored himself, before Jack Hinshelwood added two goals in less than two minutes to make it 4-0 shortly before the half-hour mark.
Emery was visibly enraged at his side's collapse and was seen reacting furiously once the fourth goal went in.
Gomes sees red on debut
Matters got worse for Villa when debutant Joao Gomes lost his temper and kicked out at Georginio Rutter. Following a brief VAR check, the midfielder was shown a red card on his Premier League debut for the club.
"Unai Emery is steaming," former Aston Villa player Lee Hendrie said on Sky Sports. "He hasn't had many days like this as Aston Villa boss. The amount of giveaways from Villa is extraordinary."
Fastest 4-0 start since 2006
Brighton's first-half demolition of Villa was the fastest a team has raced into a 4-0 lead in their opening game of a season since Manchester United against Fulham in the 2006-07 season.
Summer exodus at Villa Park
Alarm bells had been ringing at Villa Park during the summer over the number of big names leaving the club. Morgan Rogers, Youri Tielemans, Lucas Digne and Ezri Konsa all started Villa's Europa League triumph in May but have since moved on.
Emery brought in a host of new signings, including Gomes, Johan Manzambi, Matteo Ruggeri and Zion Suzuki, which had brought renewed optimism to the club ahead of the season. That optimism dissipated rapidly after Villa's dismal opening 45 minutes at the Amex.
