Aston Villa, former European champions, started the new 36-team UEFA Champions League with a 3-0 win over BSC Young Boys at Stadion Wankdorf.
In their first-ever meeting, Young Boys, the Swiss champions, came out strong. Villa’s goalkeeper, Emiliano Martinez, made crucial saves early on, stopping a free-kick from Filip Ugrinic and a close-range shot from Ebrima Colley within the first 12 minutes. Colley also came close with a powerful shot just over the crossbar.
Despite Young Boys’ early dominance, Villa scored against the flow of play in the 27th minute. A clever set-piece move, designed by Villa’s set-piece coach Austin MacPhee, saw Youri Tielemans skillfully direct John McGinn’s pass into the far corner for the first goal.
After scoring their first-ever Champions League goal, Aston Villa had a chance to double their lead, but Ollie Watkins missed a great opportunity, shooting just wide of the post.
Shortly after, Jacob Ramsey had a shot saved by Young Boys’ goalkeeper, David von Ballmoos. However, a lucky turn of events saw Ramsey score anyway. Young Boys’ defender Mohamed Ali Camara made a poor back pass to his keeper, who brought down Watkins, allowing Ramsey to easily tap the ball into an empty net.
Villa nearly added a third goal five minutes later when Watkins scored with a half-volley, but VAR stepped in and overturned the goal due to a controversial handball decision.
Aston Villa looked set for their first-ever European win on Swiss soil (after one draw and one loss). Early in the second half, Villa continued to press, with Youri Tielemans, who scored the first goal, forcing Young Boys’ goalkeeper David von Ballmoos into a good save.
Von Ballmoos was busy again soon after, tipping Jacob Ramsey’s shot over the bar to keep his team in the game.
Villa thought they had scored another goal with 10 minutes left when substitute Jhon Duran found the net, but his celebrations were cut short after VAR ruled out the goal due to a handball by Amadou Onana.
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