Analysis: Aston Villa once more grateful for Jack Grealish after skipper salvages point at Brighton

On Saturday the latest addition to the skipper’s increasingly impressive personal season highlight reel was enough to earn his relegation-threatened team a point which just might just prove valuable come the end of the campaign.

With 15 minutes remaining and Villa trailing 1-0 at Brighton to Leandro Trossard’s first-half goal, Grealish ran on to Douglas Luiz’s cross from the wing and in one movement used his right foot to bring the ball under control, before in the next blasting a left-footed finish between goalkeeper Mat Ryan and the post.

It was a goal which ensured Villa’s second half performance, which made up for whatever it lacked in finesse with no shortage of fight, did not go unrewarded.

And though the end result did not prove enough to help Dean Smith’s climb out of the relegation zone, it did at least provide some encouragement ahead of their next six-pointer at home to Watford tomorrow night. A run of fixtures which has pitted Villa against teams around them in the table means emotions and opinions can fluctuate wildly with every passing match. Any optimism found in Saturday’s outcome will quickly be extinguished should Smith’s men fail to follow it up against the Hornets.

Yet by the final whistle at the Amex Stadium there is no question this felt a far better result for Villa than the hosts, who still sit just three points ahead of them in the standings.

Staying within striking distance of the pack above was among the larger positives for the visitors. So too was the response eventually delivered to the previous weekend’s 6-1 hammering at the hands of Manchester City, even if it appeared to take Villa most of the first-half to get that experience out of their system.

One might also consider the fact that a Villa team who had generally been rotten on their travels have now doubled their points tally for the season in the last two away league fixtures, with an encouraging cup result at Leicester coming in between.

Granted, it is too soon to claim a corner has been turned, yet there have undoubtedly been glimpses of the obduracy required if they are to dig themselves out of trouble.

They also, of course, require a striker, though at least on that score the club’s lengthy search is nearing a conclusion, with Smith confirming after the game a deal to bring Mbwana Samatta is done bar the arrival of a work permit.

This was the third match in a row the head coach had named a starting XI which did not include a recognised centre-forward and the benefits of having one were highlighted most acutely following his second half changes which helped Villa get back into the game.

Though Indiana Vassilev, a 68th minute substitute, might have only touched the ball four times on his Premier League debut, the teenager’s willingness to occupy space and make a nuisance of himself for Brighton’s centre-backs allowed his team to advance further up the pitch.

It also allowed Anwar El Ghazi, who until that point had toiled without reward in a central attacking role, to switch to a more familiar position on the right wing, further improving the visitors cohesion as an attacking force.

Whether Smith deems Vassilev, for whom this was only a third senior appearance off the bench, ready to start a match is open to question.

But if Samatta’s work permit has not arrived in time for him to feature against Watford, then the final quarter of Saturday’s match should at the very least have provided the boss with some food for thought.

Smith, who has earned criticism for an apparent reluctance to make proactive substitutions, also brought on Luiz at the same time as Vassilev.

The Brazilian midfielder then provided the cross from which Grealish thumped Villa level. It was the 24-year-old’s seventh Premier League strike of what was already a career best goalscoring season and further underlined his growing stature as a top class, top flight performer.

Whenever Villa have needed a hero of late, Grealish has been the one to deliver, whether it be setting up Conor Hourihane for the only goal of the Boxing Day victory over Norwich, or netting what proved to be the winner in the New Year’s Day triumph at Burnley.

He cannot, of course, do it all on his own. If Villa are to survive this season, it is going to require the likes of Luiz, El Ghazi, Trezeguet and others to come to the party on a more consistent basis than they have to this point.

There are also issues which still require addressing in a midfield which, nearly a month on from the loss of John McGinn, lacks fluency and can be too easily bypassed.

Saturday at least saw an improved performance from Danny Drinkwater following his nightmare debut against City. The Chelsea loanee at least looked a little more on the pace than the previous weekend, if not quite right at it, while showing glimpses of the passing ability which once made him a £35million player.

Villa’s second January signing, Pepe Reina, meanwhile enjoyed a steady debut which included a flying save to deny Neal Maupay late on.

It was the home side’s only serious effort of the second half and a winner would have been cruel on the visitors, who played after the break the kind of bravery and desire they must find more consistently from here on in.

Villa’s continued failure to find top gear for 90 minutes remains one of several concerns but after the humbling handed out by City, this felt like a step back in the right direction, albeit a small one.

Far bigger strides are now required, starting against Watford tomorrow.