Aston Villa secured a 3-0 win over Club Brugge in the second leg of our round-of-16 Champions League tie to advance 6-1 on aggregate.
After a cautious opening half despite the visitors going down to 10 men, Villa made a perfect start to the second half as a double from Marco Asensio either side of an Ian Maatsen goal helped us kill off the tie.
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While we arguably didn’t show enough adventure and quality in the first half, Villa ultimately managed the game perfectly to limit Brugge’s threat, and eventually win in comfortable fashion to advance.
Villa will now face Paris Saint-Germain in the quarter-finals in what promises to be a mouth-watering yet very difficult challenge, but our European journey ultimately continues this season, and Unai Emery and the players will believe that we can produce a shock against the Ligue 1 giants.
Aston Villa player ratings vs Club Brugge:
Emiliano Martinez, 7.5 – Didn’t have a great deal to do as we nullified Brugge’s threat well throughout, but his distribution was excellent. It was his brilliant long pass that found Marcus Rashford in behind, which in turn led to the red card for the visitors.
Matty Cash, 7 – Solid shift in both phases, as he played with great intent and intensity which gave us some sort of a spark in a cautious and passive opening half.
Ezri Konsa, 7 – Controlled performance as he kept things tight at the back with his reading of the game and positional play to play a key role in helping us keep another clean sheet.
Tyrone Mings, 7 – Similar to Konsa, as the pair worked really effectively together in the heart of the Villa defence to shore things up and limit the threat posed by Brugge.
Ian Maatsen, 8 – Wasn’t intensely challenged from a defensive perspective, but played his part in that phase while getting forward when possible too and capped it off with our second goal after getting into a dangerous position.
Boubacar Kamara, 6.5 – Good to see the Frenchman get a valuable shift after recovering from injury, wasn’t at his influential best but played his part in helping us maintain control.
Youri Tielemans, 8 – Another tireless and important shift in the midfield pivot, as he added rhythm and flow to our play, while picking out some brilliant passes to get us into goalscoring situations. Top display once again.
John McGinn, 7.5 – Tenacious shift from the Villa skipper, as although we lacked quality going forward in the first half, we put in a robust and organised defensive effort and that ran through the entire team.
Morgan Rogers, 7 – Couldn’t provide the quality needed in the final third to make the difference in the first half, but he produced the assist for Maatsen’s goal after some excellent play. Still searching for his best form again but made an important contribution.
Marcus Rashford, 8 – Similar to Rogers in the first half, as he couldn’t quite find that cutting edge in front of goal to be decisive. However, remained a threat with his movement even with a positional switch to go up top, and eventually made his mark with the assist for Asensio’s second.
Ollie Watkins, 6.5 – Quiet night as he struggled up top having been left slightly isolated as Villa didn’t offer much in the attacking third. Picked up a knock just before half-time before being replaced at the break.
Substitutes:
Leon Bailey, 7.5 – Great impact as his pass found Asensio in the box to break the deadlock, added freshness and impetus to our attacking play in the latter stages.
Marco Asensio, 8.5 – Magical impact off the bench. His movement and positional awareness is exceptional as he continues to get into good positions, and his clinical finishing is making such an important difference for us in front of goal. Decisive.
Pau Torres, 6.5 – Great to see him back after his injury. Valuable minutes as he builds his match fitness back up, looked comfortable and composed in possession.
Jacob Ramsey, 7 – Similar impact to Bailey in that he gave us fresh impetus and posed a threat in the latter stages.
Axel Disasi, N/A
