Young Boys vs Aston Villa Report
Scorers: Tielemans 27’, Ramsey 38’, Onana 86’
Aston Villa Begin UEFA Champions League Campaign with Dominant 3-0 Win Over BSC Young Boys
Aston Villa, former European Champions, made an impressive start to the newly-formatted 36-team UEFA Champions League (UCL) with a convincing 3-0 victory over BSC Young Boys at the Stadion Wankdorf.
Young Boys Start Strong but Villa Strike First
In their first-ever head-to-head encounter, reigning Swiss Super League champions Young Boys came out aggressively. Within the opening 12 minutes, they tested Villa’s defence with Emiliano Martínez making crucial saves to deny Filip Ugrinic’s free-kick and Ebrima Colley’s close-range effort. Colley almost found the net again shortly after with a fierce dipping shot that narrowly missed the target.
Despite the early pressure from Young Boys, it was Aston Villa who took the lead in the 27th minute. A well-executed set-piece from Villa’s playbook, orchestrated by set-piece coach Austin Macphee, saw Youri Tielemans guide John McGinn’s delivery into the far corner, giving Villa their first-ever UCL goal.
Soon after, Ollie Watkins had a chance to double the lead but fired his effort just wide of the post.
Villa Extend Their Lead Amid Controversies
Jacob Ramsey soon made it 2-0, though not without controversy. After shooting straight at David von Ballmoos, Ramsey fortuitously found himself on the scoresheet. Mohamed Ali Camara’s back pass to his goalkeeper resulted in a foul on Watkins, and Ramsey capitalised by scoring into an empty net.
Villa nearly extended their lead further five minutes later when Watkins struck a half-volley into the net. However, VAR intervened, disallowing the goal for a seemingly harsh handball.
Villa Dominate the Second Half
Aston Villa remained in control after the restart, continuing to threaten the Young Boys’ goal. Youri Tielemans forced another smart save from Von Ballmoos, and the Young Boys’ captain had to make another crucial stop, tipping Ramsey’s shot over the bar.
Villa thought they had scored again with 10 minutes remaining when substitute Jhon Durán found the net, but his celebrations were cut short as VAR disallowed the goal due to a handball by Amadou Onana. Despite this setback, Villa did secure a third goal as Onana fired a sublime strike into the bottom corner, sealing the victory.
Conclusion
Three goals and three points mark a perfect start for Aston Villa in their UCL debut. Unai Emery’s side now look ahead to three Premier League matches before continuing their European journey with a highly anticipated encounter against Bayern Munich—a repeat of the 1982 final.
Meanwhile, this defeat means Young Boys have managed to overcome English opposition only once in the competition’s history (D1, L5).
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