Unai Emery was frustrated his Aston Villa side could not round off an impressive year with a win as they drew 2-2 with Brighton in the Premier League.

Goals from Ollie Watkins and Morgan Rogers looked to have given Villa a comeback win following Simon Adingra's opener.

But Tariq Lamptey's effort 10 minutes before the end earned the Seagulls a point, with Villa remaining ninth in the table, two points clear of their opponents.

Emery felt their performance warranted more, however, telling Sky Sports: "We played a very fantastic match more or less.

"Only the first 20 minutes we started lower than we were planning and we conceded one goal. We reacted and came back with 2-1.

"I have to accept it but I am a little bit frustrated with it. The table is very tight but we are in the race for the second part of the season."

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The Spaniard knew his side's slender lead was always a dangerous one after they failed to convert their dominance into a more comfortable advantage.

He said: "The result is at risk when you score one goal.

"We created some attacking third actions and the corner we had with Watkins was maybe the key moment to win the match."

Despite his disappointment, Emery still wanted to acknowledge the enormity of a year in which Villa qualified for the Champions League, with wins over sides including Bayern Munich already putting them in a great position to progress to the knockout stages early next year.

"We have to be proud of the year," said Emery.

"We have to try to accept it and be happy with the results we had in 2024. Happy New Year to everybody."

Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler, meanwhile, thought his side were more than deserving of their equaliser and could have had more from the game, as their winless run stretched to seven matches.

"We deserved to make the equaliser and then had more chances to score the winning goal", Hurzeler told Sky Sports.

"It's a disappointing feeling because we could have got more. We have to invest a lot and I'm sure the luck will come back."