Aston Villa ended their goal drought in emphatic fashion, opening their Champions League campaign with a 3-2 victory over Club Brugge on Tuesday.
Unai Emery’s side had endured a dismal start to the Premier League season following a turbulent summer in which several key players from last season’s Europa League triumph departed the club.
Villa had failed to score in the top flight and managed just one shot on target across their opening three matches.
But their first Champions League league-phase fixture provided a much-needed boost as Villa secured their first victory of the season.
In torrential rain at the Jan Breydel Stadium, John McGinn put Villa ahead in the 11th minute with the club’s first goal of the campaign.
Hugo Vetlesen equalised seven minutes later, but Emiliano Buendia restored Villa’s lead three minutes after that before Nicolas Jackson scored his first goal for the club shortly before half-time.
Nicolo Tresoldi converted a penalty after the break to set up a tense finale, but Villa held on for all three points.
Villa will now turn their attention to securing their first Premier League victory when they visit Nottingham Forest this weekend before returning to Champions League action against Fenerbahce in October.
Villa won the Europa League last season to end a 30-year trophy drought, but the squad that beat Freiburg in Istanbul has undergone a major overhaul in just a few months.
Morgan Rogers, Ollie Watkins, Youri Tielemans, Emiliano Martinez, Lucas Digne and Ezri Konsa were among the players sold during a turbulent summer.
The rebuild, prompted by the club’s need to comply with football’s financial regulations, represents a major test for Emery. Tuesday’s victory offered the first indication that the manager may be finding a solution.
Villa had thrashed Brugge in the Champions League last 16 in 2025 and once again proved too strong for the Belgian side.
Villa click at last
After three frustrating weeks without a goal, Villa finally broke the deadlock in the 11th minute.
Pau Torres was the catalyst, embarking on an incisive run before picking out McGinn, who curled a superb finish beyond Yann Sommer.
George Hemmings almost doubled Villa’s advantage moments later, but Sommer produced a fine save to deny the 19-year-old.
Hemmings missed another opportunity soon afterwards when he scuffed his effort wide with the goal at his mercy.
Brugge punished those missed chances by equalising in the 18th minute.
Jan Virgili’s dynamic run created the opening for Vetlesen, who took advantage of Villa’s hesitant defending to fire a clinical strike past Zion Suzuki and into the bottom corner.
Villa responded immediately and restored their lead three minutes later.
Joao Gomes found Buendia, who produced an accurate finish that gave Sommer no chance.
With both teams attacking with abandon, Jackson extended Villa’s advantage in the 43rd minute.
Much criticised during his disappointing spell at Chelsea, the £65 million ($88 million) signing showed impressive composure, holding off two Brugge defenders before rounding Sommer and slotting the ball into an empty net.
Brugge were handed a route back into the game in the 61st minute when Aaron Wan-Bissaka handled Joaquin Seys’s cross inside the area.
Tresoldi converted the resulting penalty, setting up a tense final half-hour.
Villa came under sustained pressure as Brugge pushed for an equaliser and narrowly avoided surrendering their lead when Tresoldi’s header was fumbled onto the post by Suzuki.
Tresoldi had another opportunity to level in stoppage time, but his header went straight at Suzuki, allowing Emery to breathe a sigh of relief as Villa secured a hard-fought victory.
AFP
