Aston Villa’s Champions League campaign began with a 3-0 win over Young Boys.
Youri Tielemans opened the scoring, controlling John McGinn’s corner inside the box before powering past several yellow shirts into the bottom corner.
Jacob Ramsey doubled the lead before the break, taking advantage of a mistake at the back for Young Boys to swoop in and slot home a dropped ball.
Ollie Watkins’ strike was ruled out of the game, meaning his celebrations were cut short by a very minor handball foul on the England striker.
Amadou Onana scored a beautiful goal with just minutes left to make it 3-0.
All in all, it was a perfect night for the Villains as they look to advance to the Champions League.
A great start to the Champions League campaign 💥#YBAVL || #Villaup pic.twitter.com/OCj02TOS79
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) September 17, 2024
Find out how the Midlands team is back at the top of European football.
How it happened
Days after Aston Villa beat Everton in the Premier League, Unai Emery fielded a strong starting XI.
Watkins, Morgan Rogers, McGinn and others attended this important event.
But they were under enormous pressure early in the game.
Emiliano Martinez was forced into three saves within the first 15 minutes, most notably when Ebrima Colley had a very good shot blocked in the box.
A few minutes later, the same player struck again, firing a long-range shot that flew just over the crossbar and sent Martinez floundering.
Villa struck back when Watkins headed the ball well past the Scotland man before captain McGinn fired a half-volley just wide of the post.
And just minutes later, they made a breakthrough.
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) September 17, 2024
McGinn fired a corner deep towards Tielemans, who was hiding in space behind the back post.
The former Leicester midfielder latched onto the ball and fired into the bottom corner of the goal, spinning his wheel to celebrate with the whole team.
After that, Villa started attacking in earnest and pushed Young Boys back into their own half for a long time.
But the home side still looked threatening on the counterattack, with Colley and striker Silvere Ganbula particularly notable.
Despite their efforts to remain competitive in the match, Young Boys were pushed back 0-2.
Ramsey was next, reading the home team’s back pass and slotting home the winner.
He is one of us and our advantage is now doubled. pic.twitter.com/14LtaTwCv8
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) September 17, 2024
It was shaping up to be a memorable night for Emery’s side, who could have gone 3-0 up had the goal not been disallowed.
Watkins then scored the next goal, but the celebrations were cut short when VAR ruled out a handball.
The first half was very intense, but there weren’t many notable matches in the second half.
With the Premier League club two points ahead, they were content to slow down slightly, making it harder for Young Boys to find space in attack.
John Duran, who came on as a substitute, looked threatening as expected in the second half, and had a goal ruled out after some excellent link-up play with Ramsey.
Another handball match against Villans ensued, but they finally scored their third goal with two minutes left in the game.
That guy 👑 pic.twitter.com/T1ytWCsA7o
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) September 17, 2024
Onana received the ball from Tielemans 30 yards out and fired a long-range shot into the bottom corner of the goal.
It was the perfect way to end what could have been a tricky Champions League opener with Villa comfortably claiming all three points.
While they will have much tougher tests ahead of them, this night will be one that all fans and players can enjoy for the next few weeks.
