Ollie Watkins scored twice as Aston Villa fought back from 2-0 behind to win a seven-goal thriller at Brighton and climb to third in the Premier League.

This was a meeting between two in-form teams, with the Seagulls having won three of their previous four league games while Villa had won their past three in a row.

It looked like it would be the Seagulls who would continue their strong form when Jan Paul van Hecke scrambled in from close range after goalkeeper Marco Bizot - who replaced Emi Martinez just before kick-off - failed to deal with a corner.

Brighton added a second when a neat break ended with an attempted square ball by substitute Jack Hinshelwood deflecting heavily off Pau Torres into his own net.

The visitors seemed down and out, but Watkins sparked a remarkable fightback by scoring two goals to level matters before half-time.

The striker, who had not scored since September, got his first of the night when he slid in to finish from Ian Maatsen's cross, and he then strode on to a ball over the defence before firing a confident equaliser.

Villa were suddenly in the ascendancy and deservedly took the lead in the second half when Amadou Onana turned in a corner at the far post.

Onana and Hinshelwood both had chances to score before substitute Donyell Malen got Villa's fourth with almost his first touch, pouncing after Evann Guessand's header was pushed back into the danger zone by Bizot.

Van Hecke gave Brighton hope of staging their own comeback when he fired in first time from the edge of the box before Bizot superbly saved from Danny Welbeck.

But Villa held on for their sixth victory in a row across all competitions and move above Chelsea in the table, with Brighton sitting seventh.

It was perhaps no surprise that this ended up being a highly entertaining encounter between two sides flying high at the moment.

Either side could have ended the day third in the table with a win, depending on results elsewhere.

That factor provided a big incentive to push for the three points, and it was exactly what they both did.

Since a rocky start to the season, in which they failed to win any of their first six games, Villa have been in sensational form and have won 12 and lost just two of their latest 14 matches.

Watkins has struggled to play his usually prolific part in that run, having scored just one goal all season heading into Wednesday's game, but Unai Emery's decision to stick by him paid off with his double in this game that turned the tide in Villa's favour.

Encouragingly they were both good goals too, Watkins showing a striker's natural instinct to slide in and finish for the opener and then clinically picking his spot for the second after racing away from Brighton's defence.

With another goal for Malen - his sixth in as many games in all competitions - Villa are looking strong in attack and worthy contenders to finish in the top four this season.

This was a disappointing loss for Brighton to swallow, considering they looked so commanding in the opening half hour.

They appeared to have the measure of Villa, limiting the threat from the visitors in attack and deservedly moving into a two-goal lead.

It was a different story in the second half, though, with the momentum by that point having switched to Villa after Watkins' two goals.

But Brighton can still take positives from a bold performance against the form team of the Premier League at the moment, while this was just their first defeat at home this season.

Brighton have the chance to quickly get back to winning ways at home as they host West Ham in the Premier League on Sunday, 7 December (14:00 GMT).

Aston Villa, meanwhile, host Arsenal on Saturday, 6 December (12:30 GMT) knowing they have the opportunity to move to within three points of the Premier League leaders with a win.