It is advantage Aston Villa as Unai Emery’s men edged Club Brugge 3-1 in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League round of 16 clash on Tuesday, Afrosport reports.
Two goals in the final 10 minutes in the second half handed Villa the win at the Jan Breydel Stadium.
Taking a two-goal advantage back to Villa Park ⭐️#CLUAVL pic.twitter.com/E1lTQshiHj
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) March 4, 2025
The visitors got ahead early in the tie, with Leon Bailey breaking the deadlock inside three minutes. The Jamaica international connected with a header from Tyrone Mings inside Brugge’s box before finding the bottom corner.
Club Brugge, however, drew level in the 12th minute through defender Maxim De Cuyper. The fullback found the bottom right corner after being teed up by Christos Tzolis.
The two sides traded blows, but it was Villa that got the desired result, with defender Brandon Mechele turning the ball into his own net to give the Premier League side the lead with eight minutes remaining in regulation time.
Villa got their third in the 88th minute through substitute Marco Asensio, who slotted home his penalty kick after Tzolis brought down Matty Cash in the danger area.
The result meant Emery’s men will head into next week’s return fixture at Villa Park with a sizeable lead.
