Aston Villa returned to Europe's elite competition for the first time in over four decades on Tuesday evening, and they returned with some style. Villa beat Swiss champions BSC Young Boys 3-0 at the Wankdorf stadium.
The match report
It was a nervy opening 15 minutes for Villa as they slowly began to adapt to the plastic playing surface and the European atmosphere around them. Both Ebrima Colley and Filip Ugrinic went close for the hosts early on. Eventually Villa settled into the game and after John McGinn spurned Villa's first opportunity they took full control of proceedings.
Villa took the lead through Belgian midfielder Youri Tielemans just before the half hour mark. Austin MacPhee, who is growing himself a strong reputation, devised yet another set-piece routine that resulted in a Villa goal. After taking a short corner, John McGinn floated the ball to the back post where Tielemans cushioned the ball with his first touch and fired the ball into the far corner through a whole host of bodies.
Then a few minutes later, Villa academy graduate Jacob Ramsey doubled Villa's lead after some calamity defending by the Swiss side. A back-pass from only a yards out was pounced upon by Ollie Watkins and he was brought down by Van Ballmoos in the six yard area. In turn, the ball fell to Jacob Ramsey who calmly slotted the ball into the far corner of a half-open goal.
The dominance continued to grow towards the end of the first half and they thought they had made it three through Ollie Watkins. Ramsey, after good play from Morgan Rogers, pulled the ball across from the left hand side and at the second attempt Watkins fired the ball into the far corner. However, VAR deemed there to be a handball after Watkins' first effort rebounded off the defender back into him. It almost certainly looked like it hit the England international in the chest rather than his arm, but the decision was to rule out the goal.
Villa continued to control the ball and the tempo of the game in the second half. Jhon Duran replaced Watkins on the hour mark and he thought he'd trebled Villa's lead with a sublime finish from the edge of the penalty area. However, the goal was again chalked off after Amadou Onana had handled the ball in the build-up, many phases before the goal was scored, and the lead remained at two. To add insult to inury, Duran was given a yellow card for his celebration which involved standing up on the advertising boards in front of the Swiss teams "ultras".
Onana made up for his part in the disallowed Duran goal just five minutes before the end however as his thumping low strike from 25 yards sealed a historic win for the European Cup winners in 1982. The victory was a dream start to the competition or Unai Emery's men and he dedicated the win to Villa legend Gary Shaw, who passed away at the age of 63 on Sunday.
""Of course we want to dedicate this victory to Gary Shaw, his family and all of the Aston Villa family."Unai Emery
Player ratings (out of 10)
Emi Martinez - Despite the game being firmly in Villa's control for the majority, Martinez was called upon to make a few saves and when he did so he made it look easy. Distribution was also very good, as always. World class goalkeeper. 8
Lamare Bogarde - Bogarde really struggled in the opening quarter of the match. He seemed to struggle to cope with both the surface and the balls being played down his flank. He became stronger heading towards half time but much to learn for the youngster. He was replaced at half time by Diego Carlos as a result of his struggles. 5
Ezri Konsa - As usual he was solid at centre-back and went he went to right-back in the second half he proved himself as a 1-on-1 expert once more by shutting down any attack that went down Villa's right-hand side. 8
Pau Torres - Heading into the game the worry was that Torres may be dominated in the air following his struggles against Everton and Dominic Calvert-Lewin. However, he dealt with the aerial ball very well and was as excellent as always with his play in possession. 8
Lucas Digne - The Frenchman continued his fantastic start to the season with a composed display. He was a constant threat down the left with his overlapping runs and balls into the box. Defensively, he was solid also. 8
Amadou Onana - If he hadn't already proved his worth this season, this performance really did. Onana dominated the midfield and won every ball that came near him. In possession, he helped Villa progress and his thunder-blast into the bottom corner towards the end capped a superb night for the Belgian international. 9
Youri Tielemans - Tielemans has been tipped by many to go on and win Villa's player of the season award following his magnificent start to the season. His opening goal and calmness in possession throughout demonstrated his technical quality and his performances have certainly meant Villa have forgotten about the departure of Douglas Luiz. 9
John McGinn - The Villa skipper has had a below-par start to the season for his high standards but his performance against Young Boys proved how vital he is to Unai Emery. A clear leader on the pitch and his ability to hold on to the ball when needed was excellent. 8
Jacob Ramsey - As a Villan through and through, it doesn't get much better than a goal on your Champions League debut. A composed finish for the goal and threat and composure when attacking down the left caused constant problems for Zachary Athekame at right-back. Ramsey is starting to really show what Villa were missing during his injury crisis last season. 9
Morgan Rogers - The former Boro man's highlight reel from this game proves how special a talent Morgan Rogers is. Picking the ball up from anywhere and driving at the Young Boys midfield and defence caused constant issues and he was unlucky not to grab himself his first goal or assist of the season. The numbers will come. 8
Ollie Watkins - The Villa talisman will be gutted that his goal was harshly chalked off. Watkins led the line well, held the ball up when needed and provided a threat in front of goal. 7
Substitutes
Diego Carlos - The Brazilian had Villa fans hearts in mouths when he gave the ball away needlessly on the edge of his own area with the score at 2-0, but other than that he was strong in his defending and looked good considering it was his first minutes of the season. 6
Jhon Duran - Duran produced another exqusisite finish, as he did against Everton at the weekend, before the goal was chalked off. His inter-linking play prior to the disallowed goal was wonderful and he again looked a constant threat. 7
Ross Barkley - only played the last few minutes. N/A
Emi Buendia - only played the last few minutes but showed some delightful touches with a back heel. N/A
Ian Maatsen - only played the last few minutes. N/A
Man of the Match
Aston Villa's next UEFA Champions League game will be at home to Bayern Munich, who last night obliterated Dinamo Zagreb 9-2 in Germany. Harry Kane scored four of those goals.
UTV