Impressive home form has been masking an underlying issue on the road for Villa, so there was added emphasis for them to claim a positive result here.
However, their start was disastrous as Villa were the masters of their own downfall, with a defensive calamity involving Ezri Konsa allowing Simon Adingra to collect Lewis Dunk’s hopeful joist forward and curl home into the far corner.
Unai Emery’s side were lucky not to be two behind soon after when Julio Enciso’s curling effort forced a fine one-handed save out of Emiliano Martinez.
The first half lacked rhythm, owing largely to injuries and VAR checks, and it was one of those pitchside consultations which led to Villa’s equaliser.
Joao Pedro had the ball nicked off his toe in the area by Morgan Rogers, and after a lengthy check of the pitchside monitor, Craig Pawson awarded Villa a penalty, which Ollie Watkins duly converted.
The pendulum swung firmly in Villa’s favour at that point, and ha;f-time didn’t stunt their momentum either, with the hosts taking the lead within two minutes of the restart.
Rogers was again involved, but this time he was the scorer, latching onto Watkins’ pass and arrowing an effort into the far corner.
Watkins came close to doubling Villa’s advantage when his bullet header forced a smart stop from Bart Verbuggen, and the Dutchman’s save almost looked even more key soon after.
Brighton broke at the other end and looked good value to net an equaliser when Joao Pedro was afforded the freedom of Villa Park on the edge of the area, but his effort was uncharacteristically wayward and he blazed high over the bar.
There was nothing wayward about the Seagulls’ leveller though, and the Brazilian was involved, touching the ball sideways for Tariq Lamptey to step onto it and thunder home.
The pair both sensed the game was there for the taking in the closing stages, with each side probing for a late winner that ultimately never arrived despite being afforded a generous six stoppage minutes of stoppage time.
A draw sees Villa miss the chance to climb into the top seven, and while Brighton couldn’t have jumped quite as high, they also pass up the opportunity to close the gap on European qualification.