Late Brighton’s penalty dents Aston Villa’s Champions League hopes
Brighton struggled to a 1-0 win over Aston Villa, with Joao Pedro’s late penalty denying Villa a shot at Champions League qualification.
The match was a clear battle between Brighton’s Simon Adingra and Villa’s stand-in goalkeeper Robin Olsen, who filled in admirably for the injured Emi Martinez.
Adingra played a crucial role for Brighton throughout the game, and succeeded in winning the decisive penalty in the 87th minute after being fouled by Ezri Konsa.
Although Olsen initially saved the penalty, Pedro capitalized on the rebound to secure his 20th goal of the season.
Despite Martinez’s absence, Olsen’s stellar performance kept Villa in contention, with a series of crucial saves maintaining a respectable scoreline.
![UCL: Gyokeres told he was 'barely visible' during Sporting vs Arsenal clash Viktor Gyokeres endured a frustrating return to Lisbon as Arsenal squeezed out a 1-0 win over Sporting CP in their Champions League quarter-final first leg, with the striker coming under heavy criticism from the Portuguese media. The Swedish forward, who previously starred for Sporting, was largely ineffective throughout the encounter at the Estadio Jose Alvalade. Despite a strong reception from home supporters, his performance failed to match expectations. Local outlet A Bola summed up his performance bluntly, stating: “The striker celebrates with a mask, [but] seemed masked: he was barely visible.” Other publications echoed similar sentiments, with O Jogo noting that Sporting “stifled” their former talisman, while Público described him as “largely absent from the game.” Gyokeres, who scored 97 goals in 102 appearances during his time in Portugal, managed just 17 touches and struggled to impose himself against a defence that appeared well-drilled in neutralising his strengths. Numbers speak to a difficult outing Statistically, his performance showed lack of impact. His only notable involvement came in the build-up to a disallowed goal for Martin Zubimendi, where he was flagged offside. A late effort on goal, comfortably handled by Rui Silva, summed up an underwhelming night for the forward, who was unable to replicate his usual clinical edge that led Arsenal to invest heavily in his signing. Substitutes changed the game With Gyokeres struggling to influence play, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta turned to his bench for inspiration. The introduction of Gabriel Martinelli and Kai Havertz proved decisive. Havertz eventually delivered the breakthrough with a stoppage-time winner, sealing a narrow advantage for the Premier League side ahead of the second leg in London.](https://www.gistreel.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/InShot_20260408_124324008-220x124.jpg)
However, Brighton kept knocking, and fought their way through for all three points.