Albion couldn’t have had a better start as Alexis Mac Allister robbed Lucas Digne and put Albion in front inside 50 seconds.
Albion pressed for a quick second but the combination of Danny Ings and Emiliano Buendia were causing the new defence pairing of Levi Colwill and Lewis Dunk a few problems.
And after 20 minutes Dunk scythed down John McGinn, with Ings converting the resulting penalty.
Brighton have continued to press Villa but Solly March is having a torrid time against Digne while Danny Welbeck and Leandro Trossard seem out of sorts.
