Aston Villa Starts Champions League Campaign with Win Over Club Brugge
Aston Villa survived a furious late onslaught in Belgium to launch their 2026-27 Champions League campaign with a statement away win, edging a breathless contest 3-2 against Club Brugge at the Jan Breydel Stadium.
Emery’s side did not ease themselves into Europe. They tore into it.
John McGinn set the tone after just 11 minutes, timing his run and finish to perfection to give Villa the ideal start. It was the sort of early blow that usually quietens a crowd.
Not this one.
Brugge hit back almost instantly, fuelled by a restless, noisy home support. Eight minutes after falling behind, Hugo Vetlesen arrived to meet a pass from Jan Virgili and swept in the equaliser, the stadium erupting as the score snapped back to 1-1 and the momentum seemed to tilt.
Villa simply punched again.
Unai Emery’s team reset quickly and wrestled back control. On 22 minutes, Emiliano Buendia restored the lead, drifting into space and coolly finishing after being picked out by Joao Gomes. The move underlined Villa’s composure: one precise pass, one ruthless touch, and the advantage was theirs once more.
From there, the visitors grew. The passing sharpened, the press tightened, and Brugge began to chase shadows. Just before the interval, Villa landed what looked like a decisive third.
In the 43rd minute, summer signing Nicolas Jackson announced himself properly in claret and blue. The striker seized his moment, steering home his first official goal for the club and sending Villa into the break with a 3-1 lead and a strut in their step.
Brugge, though, refused to fold.
They came out for the second half with aggression and urgency, pushing Villa deeper and forcing mistakes in possession. Crosses started to rain in, second balls became a scrap, and the match shifted into Villa’s defensive third.
The pressure finally told just before the hour.
In the 59th minute, Joaquin Seys latched onto a Nicolo Tresoldi header and tried to flash a ball across goal. His cross struck the arm of Aaron Wan-Bissaka inside the box. Under the current Champions League handball regulations, the referee pointed to the spot, handing Brugge a lifeline and igniting the stands again.
Tresoldi took the ball and the responsibility. He stared down Zion Suzuki, then calmly sent the Villa goalkeeper the wrong way, tucking in from 12 yards to drag the hosts back to 3-2 and set up a tense, volatile final half-hour.
From that moment, it became a test of Villa’s nerve.
Brugge poured forward, chasing every loose ball, forcing Villa to defend their area with discipline and desperation. Corners piled up, tackles flew in, and every clearance felt like a small victory for Emery’s side.
Yet Villa held.
Zion Suzuki stayed composed. The back line, under sustained pressure, refused to crack again. Blocks, headers, clearances — it was not glamorous, but it was exactly what the occasion demanded. When the final whistle cut through the noise, Villa’s players celebrated a different kind of triumph: not just a win, but a show of resilience on hostile European ground.
They return to England with three points and a strong start to the league phase secured, but there is little time to savour it. Nottingham Forest await next in the Premier League, and Emery will expect his side to carry this blend of attacking edge and defensive grit back into domestic duty.
For Brugge, the mood is very different. They matched Villa for long spells, roared back into the contest, and still walked away with nothing. That frustration will now spill into the Belgian Pro League, where they face Antwerp needing a response — and fast — to keep their season on track.
