Youri Tielemans says he is ready to face Bayern Munich next in the UEFA Champions League after Aston Villa recorded a resounding 3-0 win over Young Boys on Tuesday night, Afrosport reports.
The Belgian midfielder was on the scoresheet along with Jacob Ramsey and Amadou Onana to hand Villa a strong result after their 41-year return to Europe’s premier club competition.
Tielemans however acknowledged that the rebranded Champions League format is going to be tough when asked how he felt playing Bayern next. The Bavarian giants defeated Dinamo Zagreb 9-2
“Very excited,” he said.“Every game is going to be really tough; this new format makes it even tougher because everything is going to be really important.
“It’s going to go down to the details in the end after the eight games.
“So, it’s going to be up to us to impose our game, and we’ll see after our analysis how we can manage that.”
This team 💜 pic.twitter.com/i5i5XN8d3L
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) September 17, 2024
Villa manager Unai Emery, meanwhile, asserted that playing in the Champions League will add valuable experience for some of his players who have not been exposed to the competition before.
“The most important thing is the process we are doing here. Some players don’t have experiences at the level of the Champions League and others do,” the Spanish tactician said.
“We have to build and create a new way. The way we created last year in the Conference League was fantastic, even if we didn’t get to the final.
“We are using the experiences we are adding to do our best playing in the Champions League, starting with the respect we have for every team and with playing away always being very difficult.
“Our supporters are following us here and helping us. We have to be strong and be together even when we are playing away from Villa Park.”
Villa will now turn their attention to their Premier League encounter with midland rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday.
