Albion brought their incredible season to an end with a 2-1 defeat at Aston Villa.

The home side took the lead in the eighth minute as Jacob Ramsey went down the left and cut the ball back to Douglas Luiz, who calmly steered the ball into the bottom corner.

Deniz Undav then thought he had put Brighton level in the 19th minute, as a free kick found Julio Enciso on the left who then floated in a cross, which the German slide into the net. However, Enciso was just offside when the ball was played to him.

The Seagulls had a mountain to climb minutes later as Alexis Mac Allister was dispossessed, Leon Bailey picked up the loose ball and put Ramsey through and he unselfishly played the ball to Ollie Watkins to tap home.

In the 38th minute Undav halved the deficit as a Pascal Gross’ free-kick from deep found the striker who then slotted home. The goal was initially disallowed on the field for an offside by Undav, but VAR overturned the decision with Matty Cash having played Undav onside.

Undav did have the ball in the net again in the second half as he brought down a ball into the box and finished well, but it was ruled out as he was offside.

The defeat means Albion finish sixth on 62 points, which is their highest-ever finish and points total in the Premier League.

Their opponents Villa secured a Europa Conference league place as the win saw them finish seventh and a point behind Albion.

There was a special moment late on as Jack Hinshelwood, the son of former Seagulls defender and current Worthing manager, Adam Hinshelwood, came off the bench to make his Premier League debut. It was a lovely way to finish the season for the 18-year-old midfielder who has been a key player for Albion U23’s.

Despite the result there were plenty of positives to take from the defeat.

Undav shows his quality

One player who impressed in the defeat for Albion was Undav.

The 26-year-old had struggled to find his feet for a large majority of this season, with some fans questioning whether he was capable of playing in the Premier League.

However, since the turn of the year Undav has played his part in the Seagulls’ success.

His goal against Villa was his sixth in his last five starts. It means he finishes the season with seven goals in all competitions.

This may not make for a great return on paper, but Undav looks to have found in his feet in the last couple of months. He also offers Roberto De Zerbi a different option to Danny Welbeck and Evan Ferguson.

De Zerbi mentioned back in March about the potential Undav has and with his recent goal-scoring run and performances it seems we are starting to see some of that potential.

What a season it has been

The Defeat brought to an end a season that has been beyond dreams. But you think about what Albion have achieved this season under De Zerbi and it is even more incredible given he came in six matches into the season to replace Graham Potter, who left to join Chelsea.

In their 32 Premier League games under the Italian they have picked up 49 points, which is an average of 1.53 points a game. In those 32 games they have scored 61 goals at an average of 1.90 goals a game. De Zerbi has also guided the Seagulls to their second ever FA Cup semi-final and their first ever campaign in European football. So it really has been a season that just keeps getting better and better.

So just think what could happen when De Zerbi has a full pre-season and the chance to add players to the squad. Hopefully it will be another season to remember for Brighton!