First-half treble powers Aston Villa to Champions League win at Club Brugge

Prefer the Guardian on GoogleAston Villa were 3-1 up after 43 minutes but were made to sweat for their first win of the season, emerging victorious from an entertaining Champions League opener with Club Brugge. John McGinn, who struck the only goal when Villa belatedly got their season up and running last September against Bologna, opened the scoring before Emi Buendía and a first goal for Nicolas Jackson in claret and blue appeared to put Villa out of sight at half-time.

The Belgian side have become familiar foes since Villa returned to the big time, the glitziest club competition of them all; a freakish Tyrone Mings handball gifted the hosts a penalty, and subsequently victory, in 2024-25 and on this occasion Aaron Wan-Bissaka conceded a second-half penalty to plunge a seesawing contest back into the balance.

“Today was a very important step forward, being resilient when we were struggling,” said Unai Emery. “It is very important to start with three points. Hopefully it gives us confidence for the next matches, in the Premier League this Saturday against Nottingham Forest.”

Emery had been at pains to radiate positivity despite another slow start – Villa picked up their first point of the Premier League season at the weekend and these goals represented their first of the campaign – but he was typically animated on the touchline in Brugge. He was particularly agitated midway through the second half when he felt, not for the first time this season, his substitutes were not ready for action. At Hull last weekend, it was Tammy Abraham and Wan-Bissaka, and a few days earlier Alejandro Garnacho against Arsenal.

This time the culprits were Alysson, Ross Barkley and Lamare Bogarde. “In the dressing room at half-time we were speaking about some players who were tired, [Boubacar] Kamara, Wan-Bissaka,” Villa’s manager said. “I tried to keep [them on for] 15 minutes, but when I asked the players to replace [them] they were talking through the set pieces, sorting individual issues, but I needed quickly their impact on the field, and they did afterwards.”

In the end, it was a blend of old and new faces that got Villa over the line. Zion Suzuki made a couple of fine saves, João Gomes put in a typically tigerish performance and Jackson got the goal an encouraging all-round display deserved. The 19-year-old George Hemmings did not look out of place on his Champions League debut. “The old players need to keep our standards high, to show everybody this is the only way we can achieve the process in our objectives and targets,” Emery said. “I am so happy.”

Pau Torres was the unlikely catalyst for two of Villa’s three first-half goals. McGinn’s opener was a product of the centre-back roaming unchallenged to the edge of the box. Presumably it crossed Torres’s mind to shoot, though just as he was getting giddy, he spread play to McGinn, who guided a superb first-time, left-foot strike into the far corner of Yann Sommer’s goal. In starting on Tuesday night, the Swiss became just the second goalkeeper to represent five clubs in the Champions League, but it was a night to forget for the 37-year-old.

Club Brugge replied when the lively Jan Virgili found a way past Wan-Bissaka – who was making his full Villa debut – and located Hugo Vetlesen in the box, the Norway midfielder sending a crisp finish beyond Suzuki. The hosts were level for less than three minutes, a slick Villa move culminating in Buendía wheeling away in celebration. Jackson’s deft backheel supplied Gomes, who twisted inside the box and then picked out Buendía who did the rest.

Villa’s third arrived a few minutes before the interval. Emery punched the air, his delight at establishing a two-goal advantage plain to see. Torres collected the ball on the edge of the Villa 18-yard box and, after shifting the ball out of his feet, he sent a lofted pass spinning into the opposition half, where Jackson got in between the opposition centre-backs, Lee Han-beom and Brandon Mechele. Enter Sommer, who raced about 40 yards from goal. Jackson swiped the ball cleanly and then was too strong for Lee before passing into an empty net.

Things appeared rosy, but Villa had to withstand heavy pressure after a video assistant referee review led the Swiss referee, Sandro Schärer, to penalise Wan-Bissaka for handball in the box. Nicolò Tresoldi sent Suzuki the wrong way from the penalty spot and a few minutes later Suzuki pushed another shot on to the post.

Victor Lindelöf tested the nerves of Emery, slicing a routine clearance when attempting to relieve the pressure. Villa, too, had chances, Jackson getting a shot away after latching on to a McGinn pass and Bogarde had a shot cleared off the line by the home full-back Joaquin Seys.