Aston Villa secured a crucial 3-1 victory against Club Brugge in Belgium on Tuesday, thanks to two late goals, including a Marco Asensio penalty, in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie.
Leon Bailey gave Villa an early lead, but the hosts responded through Maxim De Cuyper, keeping the match level for most of the contest.
Club Brugge put up a strong fight at the Jan Breydelstadion, but an 82nd-minute own goal by Brandon Mechele handed Villa the advantage once again.
Asensio, coming off the bench, sealed the win with an 88th-minute penalty, his fifth goal in four games, placing the 1982 European Cup winners in a commanding position ahead of the second leg at Villa Park next Wednesday.
Should Unai Emery’s side finish the job, they will set up an enticing quarter-final clash against either Paris Saint-Germain or Liverpool.
Villa qualified directly for this stage after finishing eighth in the league phase, but they had lost 1-0 in Bruges in early November.
That game was decided by a Hans Vanaken penalty after Tyrone Mings bizarrely picked the ball up in his own area.
England centre-back Mings will be pleased to have played a part in the third-minute goal which put Villa in front in that same penalty box.
He met a free-kick into the Brugge area with a header down for Bailey to score with a controlled first-time finish past goalkeeper Simon Mignolet.
Club Brugge have shown this season that they can compete at this level, notably dispatching last year’s Europa League winners Atalanta 5-2 on aggregate in the play-off round last month.
– Rashford ineffective –
The hosts were soon level. Greek international Christos Tzolis collected the ball on the left and laid it back to De Cuyper, who arrived from full back to send a first-time shot beyond Emiliano Martinez and into the far corner.
The hosts almost went ahead. Martinez made a vital save to deny Chemsdine Talbi, to whom the ball broke inside the area.
Raphael Onyedika tried a powerful strike from range early in the second half, and Villa boss Unai Emery then sought to stir his subdued side by making a quadruple substitution just past the hour.
Rashford was among the players to come off, after he was quiet on the left wing in his first Champions League appearance since being sent off for Manchester United in a 4-3 defeat in Copenhagen in November 2023.
One of those coming on was Asensio, another of Villa’s winter signings, who started on the bench despite excellent recent form.
The on-loan PSG player almost struck on 68 minutes, meeting an assist from fellow substitute Jacob Ramsey only for Mignolet to save.
Club Brugge, the beaten European Cup finalists in 1978, also could have taken the lead. Captain Vanaken headed narrowly wide from a Tzolis cross and then set up the Greek winger for a great chance which he miscued.
Brugge did not deserve to end up losing by two goals, but the unfortunate Mechele turned a Morgan Rogers cross into his own net.
Tzolis then tripped up Matty Cash in the area, and Asensio blasted in the spot-kick before running away to celebrate in front of the travelling fans.
