Nightmare debut! João Gomes matches a 14-year-old Premier League anti-record
João Gomes endured a nightmare debut for Aston Villa in their Premier League opener against Brighton. The Brazilian midfielder was shown a red card before half-time, leaving his new side a man down early in the contest.
Gomes started for Villa after his move from Wolverhampton, but his first appearance for the Birmingham club in the Premier League turned into a major disappointment. The sending-off marked his first red card in an official match for his new team.
In doing so, Gomes etched his name into Premier League history with an unenviable record. He became the first player since February 2012 to receive a red card in the first half of his Premier League debut for a new club. The last to suffer this fate was Samba Diakité of QPR, who was dismissed against Fulham.
For Aston Villa, Gomes' dismissal posed a serious problem right at the start of the Premier League campaign. The team was forced to play a significant portion of the match with ten men, while for the midfielder himself, the debut could hardly have gone worse. Remarkably, as of the 62nd minute, Brighton were leading 4-0.
Jan Novak
Dailysports's expert
