Club Brugge 2-3 Aston Villa: Champions League – as it happened
Villa’s new centre forward Nicolas Jackson scored the decisive goal as they held firm to win a thriller in Bruges
- Full time: Club Brugge 2-3 Aston Villa
- Tresoldi hits the post!
- GOAL! Club Brugge 2-3 Aston Villa (Tresoldi 61 pen)
- Half time: Club Brugge 1-3 Aston Villa
- GOAL! Club Brugge 1-3 Aston Villa (Jackson 43)
- GOAL! Club Brugge 1-2 Aston Villa (Buendia 22)
- GOAL! Club Brugge 1-1 Aston Villa (Vetlesen 19)
- GOAL! Club Brugge 0-1 Aston Villa (McGinn 11)
- Aston Villa's Champions League fixtures
- Team news
- Preamble
- Full time: Club Brugge 2-3 Aston Villa
- Tresoldi hits the post!
- GOAL! Club Brugge 2-3 Aston Villa (Tresoldi 61 pen)
- Half time: Club Brugge 1-3 Aston Villa
- GOAL! Club Brugge 1-3 Aston Villa (Jackson 43)
- GOAL! Club Brugge 1-2 Aston Villa (Buendia 22)
- GOAL! Club Brugge 1-1 Aston Villa (Vetlesen 19)
- GOAL! Club Brugge 0-1 Aston Villa (McGinn 11)
- Aston Villa's Champions League fixtures
- Team news
- Preamble
Match report: Club Brugge 2-3 Aston Villa
Aston 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 against 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 goals from Emi Buendía and a first for Nicolas Jackson 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 this time Aaron Wan-Bissaka conceded a second-half penalty to plunge a seesawing contest back into the balance. Villa had to live dangerously but equally could have won by a bigger margin.
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Whether it’s through relief or exhaustion, Unai Emery and his team will sleep well tonight. They were made to work Brugge, who contributed fully to an enjoyably open game. Ultimately Villa were a bit more clinical and won the game through first-half goals from John McGinn, Emi Buendia and Nicolas Jackson.
Full time: Club Brugge 2-3 Aston Villa
Aston Villa have won their first game of the season!
90+3 min Tresoldi’s speculative ball into the area is booted clear by Lindelof. Brugge come again. Forbs’ cross from the other side is headed towards goal by Tresoldi, 12 yards out, and Suzuki makes a comfortable save.
90+2 min Villa have parked the bus, and why not.
90+1 min Four minutes of added time.
90 min Joao Gomes is booked for a foul.
88 min Vermany is booked for a foul on the impressive Hemmings. Brugge are trying to force one last period of pressure, but at the moment Villa are managing the game pretty well.
86 min: Double substitution for Brugge Mamadou Diakhon and Romeo Vermant replace Jan Virgili and Freddie Potts.
84 min Barkley gives the ball away on the edge of the Villa area and is grateful for some excellent covering by Maatsen and another player whose name must be withheld because I’ve no idea who it was.
83 min That Bogarde shot was Villa’s 20th attempt at goal tonight, eight on target.
82 min: Seys clears off the line! The resulting corner is cleared as far as Bogarde, whose early shot from 15 yards beats Sommer and is kicked off the line by Seys!
81 min: Villa substitution Tammy Abraham replaces the superb Nicolas Jackson.
81 min Joao Gomes makes a brilliant run into the Brugge area, then chops back inside onto his right foot. He has McGinn in all kinds of space on the far side but instead hits a shot that deflects behind for a corner. Should’ve passed.
79 min Villa have restored some order in the last few minutes. They’re certainly not safe, but at least they aren’t conceding a chance a minute.
78 min McGinn is booked for something or other, probably a tactical foul. I’ll level with you: I was looking up the spelling of Felix Lemarechal when it happened.
77 min: Brugge substitutions Cheveyo Tsawa and Felix La PuBelle Lemarechal replace Hans Vanaken and Hugo Vetlesen.
76 min Blimey, there hasn’t been a chance at either end for at least 90 seconds.
74 min Lindelof does brilliantly to stretch towards his own goal and slice a dangerous cross away from Tresoldi. He had to make that or it could have been 3-3.
72 min Hemmings slides an extremely inviting ball that rolls right across the face of goal. Alysson tries to get there at the far post but takes a shortcut through Seys and is penalised.
70 min McGinn leads a Villa break and plays a gentle through pass to Jackson, who smacks a shot on the run with his left foot. Sommer is well positioned and saves to his left.
Tresoldi hits the post!
69 min The resulting corner, on the left, is clipped to the near post. Tresoldi gets up early and flicks a close-range header against the post, with the ball rebounding into the loving arms of Suzuki.
Edit: replays show that Suzuki spilled Tresoldi’s header onto the post, after which is looped back into his arms.
69 min: Triple substitution for Villa Ross Barkley, Lamara Bogarde and Alysson replace Boubacar Kamara, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Emi Buendia.
68 min Vetlesen sweeps a shot from the edge of the area that bounces awkwardly and is pushed behind by Suzuki.
67 min A chest-volley from Seys is blocked by Kamara, who is on his backside eight yards from goal but sticks out a leg to crucial effect.
65 min Seys drags a cutback towards Tresoldi at the near post. He tries to flick the ball behind his standing leg but gets it wrong.
Villa are under serious pressure now.
64 min Jackson plays an excellent reverse pass to put the marauding Maatsen through on goal, but he has a long way to run and the Brugge defenders eventually catch up with him on the edge of the area.
62 min Virgili is booked for pulling back McGinn.
GOAL! Club Brugge 2-3 Aston Villa (Tresoldi 61 pen)
The in-form Nicolo Tresoldi sidefoots a low penalty to his right. It wasn’t in the corner but Suzuki went the wrong way.
60 min: Penalty to Club Brugge! A quick look at the monitor, penalty given. It’s the correct decision in accordance with the laws, even if 99.94% of ex-footballers would say it’s a nonsense.
60 min Wan-Bissaka left arm was raised and slightly away from his body. In Europe, this is usually a penalty.
59 min: VAR check Seys whacks a cross that flattens Wan-Bissaka and goes behind for a corner. Seys appeals for a penalty, and he might get it via VAR.
55 min The impressive Virgili slithers into the area from the left and lends the ball to Tresoldi. He returns it with a smart backheel but Virgili is crowded out by Villa defenders.
54 min A swift Villa break ends with Hemmings finding the onrushing Buendia, whose cross-shot is blocked at source.
53 min Maatsen slides in to partially block Forbs’ cross from the right side of the area. The ball loops up and is clutched by Suzuki.
52 min Plenty of Brugge possession at the start of the second half. It’s all in front of Villa, though, and Nicolas Jackson has already shown how dangerous he can be in transition.
50 min There are four Champions League games after this, including FC Porto v Manchester City and Real Madrid v Internazionale, plus some Carabao Cup action.
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48 min Vanaken is booked for diving in the Villa area.
47 min Brugge have made a change at half-time: Hugo Siquet is on for Kyriani Sabbe.
46 min Peep peep! Club Brugge begin the second half.
Half-time reading
Half time: Club Brugge 1-3 Aston Villa
The report of Aston Villa’s death was an exaggeration. Their new team have played splendidly in Brugge and lead 3-1 thanks to goals from John McGinn, Emi Buendia and the outstanding Nicolas Jackson.
45 min Buendia sees Sommer farting around in no man’s land again and tries to drive a chip over him from 40 yards. Sommer backpedals to make an uncomfortable save.
Man, Jackson deserves this for a terrific centre-forward’s performance. Pau Torres won the ball on the edge of the Villa area and launched an early ball over the halfway line towards Jackson. Sommer charged miles out of his area, thinking he could beat Jackson to the ball. Wrong! Jackson kneed it past him, outpaced the covering defenders and slid the ball into the empty net.
GOAL! Club Brugge 1-3 Aston Villa (Jackson 43)
Nicolas Jackson scores his first goal for Villa!
42 min Forbs wins the ball high up the field and thrashes a rising drive from 20 yards that is beaten away by Suzuki. Comfortable save but a good effort. Brugge look lively in attack.
40 min Wan-Bissaka clips a flat cross towards Jackson at the far post. He stretches away from goal to hook an imaginative volley that bounces a few yards wide. A good effort from Jackson, who has been outstanding in the first half.
39 min Instead it’s a corner to Brugge, from which Villa break dangerously. Buendia’s sliderule pass looks set to put Jackson clear from the halfway line, only for the ball to hold up slightly on the wet pitch. That allows Brugge to get back and clear the danger.
38 min The home fans appeal for a penalty when Virgili’s cross hits the arm of Kamara. It was by his side and nothing is given.
36 min Virgili wriggles away from McGinn on the edge of the area. But then, for once, he picks the wrong option and drills a cross-shot into the side netting. The angle was too tight for that kind of funny business.
34 min “I was at the LSE in the 1980s with Hugo Vetlesen’s dad Johan, an excellent footballer himself, whose career was ended by a bad knee injury,” writes Allan Castle. “Hence the deviation into graduate education. We’ve stayed in touch here and there since then. As far as I can tell, the whole family is football mad; Hugo’s sister is also very good. Thanks to his parents’ tireless support of his career, I’ve been able to follow Hugo‘s journey vicariously from Stabaek to Bodø/Glimt to Club Brugge.
“I mention this for no good reason other than to muse about what a nice family Hugo has, to reflect on the sacrifices that whole families have to make for a career at the top level to happen; and also that I’m glad for my old friend that his son is playing in the Champions League these days. It’s nice when good things happen to good people.”
32 min The speedy Carlos Forbs, once of Wolves, scoots past Maatsen on the right. His cutback is read and intercepted by Kamara.
Villa break and McGinn’s curler from 25 yards is pushed away by Sommer. It bounced awkwardly in front of Sommer, who took no chances and got rid of it quicksmart.
28 min The last few minutes have been relatively quiet. Brugge are trying to get their bearings after going behind for a second time.
25 min It’s easy to see why there’s so much excitement about Brugge’s young Spanish winger Jan Virgili. He’s a smooth, head-up dribbler who has already caused Aaron Wan-Bissaka – generally an excellent defender one v one – plenty of problems.
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