Aston Villa’s Champions League win offers early test of rebuild
John McGinn, Emi Buendia and Nicolas Jackson delivered Villa’s first win of the season as Unai Emery’s reshaped squad held off Club Brugge.
Aston Villa ended a stuttering start to the season with a Champions League victory away to Club Brugge, earning their first win under the pressure of a squad still being reshaped.
John McGinn opened the scoring and became Villa’s all-time leading European goalscorer with 12, according to BBC Sport. Emi Buendia added a second, his first goal since the Europa League final in May, before Nicolas Jackson scored his first for the club.
The performance represented a sharp change from Villa’s opening league fixtures, in which they had managed only one shot on target across three matches and had not scored. They produced 14 first-half attempts in Belgium.
The match became more difficult after Club Brugge were awarded a penalty following Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s handball. Nicolo Tresoldi later struck the post as the hosts applied sustained pressure, but Villa held on to secure the result.
The win provides an early measure of progress for Emery, who is integrating 10 new players after major changes to the squad. He described the result as an important step in a rebuilding process based on hard work and resilience.
George Hemmings also reportedly became Villa’s first teenage starter in the Champions League or European Cup for 43 years. Villa will next face Nottingham Forest, Coventry and Tottenham before home Champions League matches against Fenerbahce and Viking in October.
