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If Albion fans feared that the reports of Sunday’s 4-0 victory over Aston Villa would all concentrate on the Midlands club’s woes and departures, they will have been pleasantly surprised. Most writers spotted that both sides had lost players since last season, and that the team in blue and white coped better on the day. David Hytner of The Guardian, for example, wrote that “It is important to say that Aston Villa were not the only team here to have lost key players over the summer; to play under the threat of further departures; to be without others because of injury. "It has been a testing time for the Brighton manager, Fabian Hurzeler, who has said goodbye to Danny Welbeck, Jan Paul van Hecke and James Milner, among others. “Only one club dealt with their problems. It was a red-letter day for Brighton, who began the season with a statement of intent; plenty of hard running and some ruthless finishing, too. “Jack Hinshelwood led the way during what was a first-half onslaught, scoring twice while Maxim De Cuyper got one and put another in off the Villa defender, Victor Lindelof. “It was a humbling for Villa. Their supporters wanted to remind everybody at kick-off time of how they had won the Europa League in May. They were left stunned by what followed – the four concessions before the interval and the knowledge that the damage could have been much worse. Their one piece of luck was that Brighton did not turn the screw in the second half. Hurzeler’s men had done enough. Max De Cuyper and Jack Hinshelwood got Albion off to a flyer, both scoring first half braces as Fabian Hurzeler's team scored four without reply against Aston Villa on the opening day of the new season. Club photographers Paul Hazlewood and James Boardman were on hand to capture all the key moments on a memorable afternoon at the Amex. “Brighton wanted it more. They dominated the duels, winning tackle after tackle. The most obvious example during a first half that pounded like a migraine for Villa came on the goal for 4-0, Yasin Ayari robbing Joao Gomes on the edge of the Villa area to tee up Hinshelwood for a straightforward finish. “Rutter was a rampaging presence. All around him Villa shrank.” Adwaidh Rajan agreed on BBC Sport, writing that “Brighton could not have asked for a better start to the new season. “Like Villa, they have also lost key personnel during the transfer window in defender Jan Paul van Hecke and seasoned striker Danny Welbeck. “Yet Hurzeler was still able to field a side that looked far closer to Brighton's first-choice line-up than the one Emery could. “Club record signing Luka Vuskovic started at centre-back on his Premier League debut and produced an assured display while goals from De Cuyper and Hinshelwood would be a welcome sight as they look to replace Welbeck's output. “Without a recognised striker, Rutter started up front and, despite not getting on the scoresheet, was central during Brighton's attacking spree in the first half.” Ditto Mitchell Hall of The Sun: “Brighton tore apart Villa with ease, notching four goals in the first half without response and cruised to the top of the Premier League,” he wrote. “Emery had three teenage academy players on the bench and had to use Emiliano Buendia as a make-shift striker due to his absences. But Brighton were without a number of stars themselves. “However, Fabian Hurzeler’s side – who were also playing off the back of a European adventure 350km north of the Arctic Circle on Thursday – looked comparatively unaffected by their absences. “Pau Torres played a terrible pass into his own box that landed straight into the feet of Maxim De Cuyper. “The Belgian swizzled on the ball and unleashed a shot on a virtually open goal with Marco Bizot, who was chosen in goal over new signing Zion Suzuki, left in no-man’s land. “De Cuyper’s shot collided with the post and landed straight on Victor Lindelof’s chest – rebounding into the back of the net for an own goal. “De Cuyper had done all the hard work and been robbed of getting his name on the scoresheet, but just 10 minutes later he ensured he got his goal. “The wide midfielder got on the end of a fizzed ball across the face of goal from Georginio Rutter and turned it into the back of the net. “Brighton were purring and Villa were left shell-shocked – the Europa League champions were stunned at their start to the game. “The misery only got worse when Jack Hinshelwood netted twice in the space of two minutes. “De Cuyper was involved again as he curled a delicious cross to the back post, headed goalward by Diego Gomez and nodded home by Hinshelwood. “Then, before Brighton fans had even stopped singing Hinshelwood’s name, the playmaker doubled his tally by taking advantage of another Villa mistake. “Yasin Ayari caught new Villa signing Joao Gomes dawdling on the ball and picked his pocket to play Hinshelwood into the box, who calmly tucked home his second.” One for the cameras: Jack Hinshelwood makes sure TV viewers knows who was on target. 📷Paul Hazlewood Sam Wallace of the Daily Telegraph thought that “Brighton were much more successful in the one-on-one encounters. “For the second [goal], Torres was no match for the surging run of Georginio Rutter, who crossed to Maxim De Cuyper. Jack Hinshelwood headed the first of two goals within a minute – the second header in that phase of play that Villa lost in their own area. “The home fans were still reflecting on the third goal when Hinshelwood scored his second, Yasin Ayari stealing the ball from Gomes and giving it to Hinshelwood for a simple finish. Villa had lost the ball passing it backwards from the kick-off after the third. “For Brighton it was a glorious start. They look once again to have made a solid summer of signings with more to come.” Harry Bamforth of Mail Online wrote that “the Seagulls ran riot against Unai Emery’s new-look Villans, netting four times in the opening 31 minutes to leave the Spaniard apoplectic on the touchline. “Villa's horror show started eight minutes in, after Maxim De Cuyper's effort smashed against the post before bouncing off centre-back Victor Lindelof and hitting the back of the net. “Ten minutes later, De Cuyper found the back of the net himself before Jack Hinshelwood netted a brace in less than two minutes on the half hour mark. “Brighton's first-half demolition of Villa was the fastest a team have raced into a 4-0 lead in their opening game of a season since Manchester United against Fulham in the 2006-07 season.”