Aston Villa they got their first win of the season and got off to a winning start Champions League return with a beating Club Bruges 3-2 at the Jan Breydel stadium.
John McGinn scored Villa’s first goal of the season with a clinical finish from the right side of the boxwith Emiliano Buendia and Nicolas Jackson putting the visitors 3-1 up at half-time after Brugge had briefly equalized through Hugo Vetlesen.
But Nicolo Tresoldi’s penalty just after the hour reduced the arrears to set up a nervy second half in Belgium, but Unai Emery’s side were able to hold on to ensure they began their Champions League campaign with a much-needed three points.
Villa was finally unmarked
Villa have failed to score in any of their three Premier League games so far, but it took just 19 minutes for them to find the net at the Jan Breydel Stadium, visiting for the third time in two years, with McGinn the man to finally find the net for the Villans.
A forward run from Pau Torres ended up for McGinn on the right side of the box, which the skipper swept home in characteristic style to put them in front.
The lead was short-lived, however, with Jan Virgili beating Aaron Wan-Bissaka down the left and squaring the ball to an unmarked Vetlesen, who found the back of the net.
But the thrilling Champions League opener took another twist when good work from summer signing Joao Gomes allowed Buendia to make it 2-1, and there was time for the Villans to make it 3-1 before the break.
Centre-back Torres was again central, playing a probing ball that forced Yan Sommer out of his goal, but new forward Jackson was alert to get the first and eventually hit the ball into the empty net.
Nervous second half in Belgium
Unai Emery’s side would have wanted to see the game out in the second half but the Belgian champions had different ideas, with a nervy second half in which a penalty was awarded for a Wan-Bissaka handball.
Tresoldi scored the penalty and the home team spent much of the second period well and truly on top, with Zion Suzuki forced to make several saves, especially from set pieces.
Jackson tested the counterattack with a chance on the break, but Brugge continued to pile the pressure on the Premier League side, who are still far from the finished article after plenty of trouble over the summer.
Substitute Alysson should probably have latched on to a George Hemmings ball across the box for a goal that would have put the game beyond doubt, with the young Brazilian seeing another chance from a set piece blocked as Villa pushed for a game-sealing goal.
Another wave of pressure from Brugge arrived in the closing stages, with Villa forced to dig in and try to see out the end of the game, with key clearances from Victor Lindelof and others doing just enough as the game reached its final minutes.
