Ezri Konsa said Marcus Rashford has a smile on his face again after he set Aston Villa on their way to a 3-0 win at Brighton on Wednesday.

Having scored his first goals for the club against Preston in the FA Cup last weekend, Rashford celebrated his first Premier League strike for Villa early in the second half.

It was his fifth goal in the competition against Brighton, only netting more against Leicester City (eight), Arsenal (six) and Tottenham Hotspur (six). 

Late goals from Marco Asensio and Donyell Malen wrapped up the points for Villa to significantly boost their hopes of finishing in the Champions League places.

It was also the Villans' biggest away win in the Premier League since beating Sheffield United 5-0 almost exactly a year ago today. 

Rashford has looked rejuvenated since making the loan switch from Manchester United in January and England team-mate Konsa spoke of his delight for the forward.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Konsa said: "He's got a smile on his face again. He looks like he's enjoying football again. I'm so pleased for him.

"We have to take it game by game. Now it's all eyes on Saturday."

Get in, Marcus pic.twitter.com/HQ4I4ARGMi

— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) April 2, 2025

Villa climbed to seventh as a result of their victory and sit three points off Manchester City in fourth, while the gap to fifth – which might prove enough for Champions League football via league placing – is just two points.

Unai Emery's men are, of course, still in this season's competition, but Konsa acknowledged the importance of the win.

"We knew this was an important game for us, it was must win. We came to win and that's what we did," Konsa added. 

"The Champions League is the main goal. We'll focus on Saturday, another big one for us. 

"I thought defensively we were excellent. All 11 of us stuck together. I didn't feel threatened at all.

"We managed to get them on the counter-attack a few times, and we got a few goals.

"It was the desire from everyone. We've kept a few clean sheets in a row. In the last few games we've shown we can do it."

Villa have now won back-to-back top flight away games for the first time since August. Indeed, they'd won just one of their previous nine on the road beforehand (D1 L7).

And they will be hoping to continue their good form against high-flying Nottingham Forest this Saturday ahead of their heavyweight clash with Paris Saint-Germain.