Youri Tielemans netted Aston Villa’s first goal in Europe’s elite club competition since Peter Withe’s strike against Juventus in 1983 to hand Unai Emery’s side three points at Wankdorf Stadium on Tuesday.
The Belgian’s first-half strike was quickly followed by a defensive disaster from the Swiss defence, allowing Jacob Ramsey to double the visitors’ advantage and settle the nerves after a difficult opening period in which it became apparent that they struggled with the artificial pitch in Bern.
A prolonged search for their third goal of the evening came to a close in the dying stages, as Amadou Onana’s thunderous effort wrapped up what was a comfortable performance in the end for Unai Emery’s men.
Aston Villa will now face Wolves, Wycombe Wanderers and Ipswich Town in domestic competitions before welcoming Bayern Munich to Villa Park for their first home UEFA Champions League fixture on October 2.
As it happened
With Aston Villa struggling on Young Boys’ unconventional artificial pitch, the Swiss hosts were able to take control of the opening stages at Bern’s Wankdorf Stadium and were unlucky not to take an early lead through Filip Ugrinic.
The Swiss midfielder’s free-kick from 30 yards out was delivered straight into the grateful arms of Emiliano Martínez, after Zachary Athekame’s probing run forwards was brought to an abrupt end by a foul from Youri Tielemans.
Ugrinic would prove to be a thorn in the side of the Aston Villa defence throughout the opening half hour, though his final touch was often lacking as he blazed wide of the near post shortly after Martínez had been called upon to deny a fierce effort from Ebrima Colley.
It was Colley who provided Young Boys’ best chance of the first half, cutting in and curling a thunderous attempt towards the far corner from distance on 22 minutes. It flew just over the woodwork though, leaving the visitors relieved.
Unai Emery’s men appeared to grow more comfortable with the artificial surface as the match wore on, with John McGinn afforded an opportunity to break forward and shoot from the edge of the box, though he failed to trouble David van Ballmoos in the hosts’ net.
But the Swiss goalkeeper was rendered helpless when, with 27 minutes on the matchday clock, Youri Tielemans wrote his name into Aston Villa’s history books by netting the club’s first UEFA Champions League goal – and their first in Europe’s top-tier competition in 41 years.
Embed from Getty ImagesLoitering towards the back post from a corner, the Belgian midfielder latched onto John McGinn’s cross and threaded a pinpoint effort through the legs of the defender and into the bottom left corner, sparking euphoria in the away end as he pointed to the 8 on the back of his shirt – the same number worn by club legend Gary Shaw, who tragically passed away on Monday at the age of 63.
Ollie Watkins should have doubled that advantage merely three minutes later, but while he could only drag his strike agonisingly wide of the post, Jacob Ramsey was on hand soon after to add to Villa’s safety net with one of the scrappiest finishes in the competition’s history.
His initial attempt at a square ball across the face of goal was defended well by Tanguy Zoukrou, though a woefully-timed pass from Mohamed Camara to van Ballmoos sparked chaos inside the six yard box as the goalkeeper swiped at the arriving Watkins. Perhaps a penalty should have been awarded there and then, but Villa fans won’t be too bothered given that Ramsey regained possession and slotted home low into the far corner.
Villa looked far from done there, and with the visitors comfortably in the ascendancy, they seemed to have added their third of the night through Watkins. VAR would dampen the forward’s excitement through, with his goal disallowed for an apparent handball in the immediate buildup.
But while Young Boys’ confidence appeared to have seeped back as the second half commenced, Aston Villa swiftly dashed it on the hour mark as McGinn and Ramsey combined well to force a fine save from van Ballmoos to keep the scoreline respectable.
That third goal looked to have finally arrived in the 78th minute courtesy of Jhon Durán, introduced as a substitute on the hour mark. The young Colombian picked out the corner with a thunderous curling effort that swept along the floor, but after picking up a yellow card in the aftermath, his effort was disallowed for a handball offence by Amadou Onana in the buildup.
Emery was left incessant on the touchline, though Onana rapidly made amends for his wrongdoing as he picked out the bottom left corner from the edge of the box following a cutback from Tielemans.
Embed from Getty ImagesAston Villa’s attention now turns to their meeting with Wolves this weekend, while their next UEFA Champions League fixture will see them welcome Vincent Kompany’s Bayern Munich to Villa Park on October 2.
The lineups
YB: van Ballmoos; Hadjam, Zoukrou, Camara, Athekame; Monteiro, Lauper, Niasse, Colley; Ganvoula, Ugrinic
AVL: Martínez; Digne, Torres, Konsa, Bogarde; Tielemans, Onana; Ramsey, Rogers, McGinn; Watkins