Match report: Albion 4 Aston Villa 0

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Sensational start to the season as De Cuyper and Hinshelwood score twice in the first half for rampant Albion.

Bruce Talbot

2026-08-23T15:55+01:00

Delight for Jack Hinshelwood after made it 4-0 with his second goal against Aston Villa. 📷Paul Hazlewood

Albion made the perfect start to the Premier League campaign as they swept aside Villa with four first-half goals at the Amex.

Maxim De Cuyper and Jack Hinshelwood both scored twice in the opening 32 minutes and shellshocked Villa also had Joao Gomes sent off before the break.

There were further chances, and Babis Kostoulas had a goal ruled out for offside in the second period and Costinha hit the post.

Fabian Hurzeler couldn't have wished for a better opening day and will now turn his attention to Thursday's UEFA Conference League play-off second leg against Tromso.

It was actually Villa who made the better start with Emi Buendia going close on the angle but after De Cuyper opened the scoring after nine minutes it was full steam ahead for Albion.

Pau Torres attempted to find his keeper from the right but instead passed it straight to De Cuyper, whose volley on the swivel went in off the post and Victor Lindelof.

Albion's intense press smothered Villa and they went 2-0 in front ten minutes later. Georginio was played onside by Matty Cash and surged down the left, looked up and funnelled a ball across the face of goal begging to be finished, and De Cuyper obliged from six yards.

Georginio tested Marco Bizet from range before Hinshelwood joined the party with two goals in two minutes.

On 28 minutes Mats Wieffer crossed from the left, Diego Gomez showed great determination at the far post to head the ball back across goal and Jack in the box stooped to head in.

Delight for Maxim De Cuyper after he doubled Albion's advantage. 📷Paul Hazlewood

Villa had barely recovered when it was 4-0. Yasin Ayari dispossessed Joao Gomes on the edge of the box and the ball ran loose to the unmarked Hinshelwood who fired right-footed past Bizot.

Gomes's afternoon got even worse when he lashed out at Pascal Gross after the German had won the ball in midfield. Already booked, his second yellow was confirmed when the referee was sent to the monitor by the VAR.

The second half turned into damage limitation for the visitors who sat in a low block and challenged Albion to break them down.

Ayari wasn't far away with a volley from a well-worked corner before substitute Costinha nearly scored with his first touch, a powerful right-foot strike that came back off the post. Fellow sub Babis Kostoulas was offside when he converted the rebound.

Gomez went close from distance but on a hot afternoon the intensity levels dropped with Villa firmly in containment mode.

Zadok Yohanna, Ibrahim Osman and Malick Yalcouye made it five Premier League debutants and Osman was unfortunate not to win his side a penalty after John McGinn barged him to the ground. Albion had settle for four goals - and top of the table!

Albion: Verbruggen, Dunk, Vuskovic, Boscagli, De Cuyper (Osman 77), Wieffer (Yohanna 77), Gross, Ayari (Costinha 64). Gomez (Yalcouye 86), Hinshelwood (Kostoulas 64), Georginio.