Aston Villa: Champions League victory in Brugge gives Villa lift-off with first win of season

It is a new chapter for Aston Villa and, against Club Brugge, they turned the page.

A first win of the season, albeit more nervy than anticipated, lit the spark for Unai Emery's side.

It may not have completely ignited the season yet but John McGinn, Emi Buendia and Nicolas Jackson gave them a winning Champions League return.

Villa won but could have drawn - or equally triumphed more handsomely - during a game which went from comfortable to edgy to relief.

It was only a second victory since that historic night in Istanbul when McGinn lifted the Europa League in May.

Since then it has been all change and, after another bleak Premier League opening, victory in Belgium was desperately needed.

With Fenerbahce and Viking to come at home in October, the path to Champions League progress is already opening up as Villa's new era slowly emerges.

The visitors were in a commanding and deserved position at half-time, McGinn's opener making him the club's all-time record European goalscorer with 12.

Buendia's strike and Jackson's first Villa goal - benefiting from Yann Sommer's rush of blood - had them cruising.

Brugge were poor and George Hemmings, Villa's first Champions League/European Cup teenage starter in 43 years, could have had at least one.

Yet the hosts made it uncomfortable for Emery's men with Nicolo Tresoldi's penalty after Aaron Wan-Bissaka's blatant handball setting up an anxious last half an hour, during which Tresoldi hit the post.

It can be viewed as a blessing in disguise that Villa had to battle their way through and ride out the hosts' pressure to earn their first win of the season. Adding the grit and determination to the quality of the opening half to prove they can get the job done.

Not that they needed the evidence themselves, Emery and his squad always have that faith and the internal desire to progress no matter the obstacle.

It was the same last season. A below-par 1-0 win over limited Bologna - thanks to another McGinn goal - got Villa going and they hardly looked back.

The victory kicked off the staggering run of 17 wins in 20 games which formed the backbone of returning to the Champions League and giving Villa momentum to win the Europa League.

Since then, of course, Villa's spine has been torn out and Emery has to integrate 10 new players into his methodical methods.

Three points in Brugge may not spark another relentless run but it gives Emery and Villa the foundations of this new era.

"It's a new Villa and it was a big test for the new players to dig in," McGinn told Uefa.

"It was Joao Gomes and George Hemmings' first Champions League game. It's not easy to go away at a place like this in difficult weather conditions. Club Brugge were pushing and pushing and pushing and we had to stand strong. We managed to do that.

"It was so important to show a real gritty performance and get a victory at a very, very tough place to play."

After just one shot on target in their opening three Premier League games the nine Villa had in Belgium would have been a comfort to Emery.

He said following Saturday's 0-0 draw at Hull it was vital to take the rebuild step-by-step and Tuesday's win was another positive move.

"The players have a responsibility too, the older players need to guide to keep our standard high, to show everybody that this is the only way to achieve our targets," Emery told the post-match news conference. "We are improving after Brighton and after Hull City.

"We must work hard - it is the only way. This is the process that we must try to set. We did one very important step forward, being resilient when we were struggling."

His players wasted no time in making that next leap by having 14 attempts in the first half, with Hemmings going closest to adding more goals.

Jackson, on his third start, got his first Villa goal following his record £65m move from Chelsea as he starts proving he is a fitting replacement for the departed Ollie Watkins.

The striker, who worked with Emery at Villarreal, will be one of the flag-bearers of Villa's new beginning as both the record signing and the player expected to score the goals to ensure they can compete at the elite level again.

"We don't care about the past, we just focus on the next one. Like every team, we have our ambitions. We just know it's a long journey, so we take it step by step try to win every game we play," said the Senegal international.

"I'm very happy to be here and happy to be with the team, manager and staff. Hopefully, there are many more to come."

Villa now host Nottingham Forest in the Premier League on Saturday before going to Coventry in the Carabao Cup and then travelling to Tottenham.

After returning from Belgium with three points following their stuttering start, they could go into the extended international break with a fresh perspective.