Joao Pedro nets late winner as Brighton hit Aston Villa’s Champions League hopes

Aston Villa’s quest for Champions League qualification suffered a setback after Joao Pedro ended Brighton’s six-match Premier League winless run with a dramatic 87th-minute winner.

Unai Emery’s side travelled to the Amex Stadium knowing victory combined with a Tottenham loss to Liverpool later in the day would guarantee a fourth-placed finish.

But Villa, who are juggling their top-flight commitments with a run to the semi-finals of the Europa Conference League, laboured for large parts of a tight south-coast encounter and were beaten 1-0 after Pedro headed home the rebound when his late penalty was saved by Robin Olsen.

Second-choice keeper Olsen produced a series of fine stops to prevent the Seagulls taking an earlier lead, while Pascal Gross had a second-half finish ruled out for offside following a lengthy VAR review.

With 19-goal top scorer Ollie Watkins a peripheral figure, the visitors barely threatened, albeit captain John McGinn also had a goal chalked off.

Villa arrived in Sussex on the back of 4-2 home loss to Olympiacos in their Europa Conference League semi-final and with work to do in Thursday’s second leg in Athens.

Manager Emery recalled defensive duo Diego Carlos and Pau Torres following a difficult evening against the Greek side, while Brighton’s starting XI showed three changes from last week’s dismal 3-0 defeat at Bournemouth.

Out-of-form Albion, seeking only a fourth league win this calendar year, had the better openings during a cagey start.

Simon Adingra stung the palms of Olsen after a neat nutmeg on McGinn before Danny Welbeck diverted a Billy Gilmour corner narrowly over with his back.

Villa’s travelling fans repeatedly revelled in Birmingham’s relegation from the Sky Bet Championship, which was