Aston Villa beat Club Brugge 3-2 at the Jan Breydel Stadium
Three first-half goals in Belgium give Emery’s rebuilding project a Champions League foundation after a goalless Premier League start
By Martin Weche
Aston Villa beat Club Brugge 3-2 at the Jan Breydel Stadium yesterday, opening their 2026-27 Champions League campaign with three valuable away points and, crucially, their first goals of the season after a muted domestic start.
It was exactly the kind of result Unai Emery needed. Villa had arrived in Belgium pointless and scoreless after three Premier League matches, carrying the weight of a turbulent summer that stripped the club of six first-team regulars — including Morgan Rogers, who departed for Chelsea in a deal that brought Nicolas Jackson to Villa Park. Questions about whether the new-look attack could function at the highest level were answered emphatically, and well before half-time.
John McGinn settled things in the 11th minute. Defender Pau Torres carried the ball uncontested through the Brugge midfield before laying off to his captain, who swept a first-time strike into the bottom-left corner past Yann Sommer. It was McGinn’s 12th goal in UEFA competition for Villa, moving him past Ollie Watkins as the club’s all-time leading European scorer. For a player now carrying more responsibility than at any point in his long Villa career, the timing could not have been better.
Club Brugge levelled quickly. Hugo Vetlesen slotted past Villa goalkeeper Zion Suzuki from a left-wing delivery by Jan Virgili in the 19th minute, and the Jan Breydel briefly roared. The response from Villa, however, was swift and composed. Emiliano Buendía restored the lead three minutes later, finishing from close range after a slick move involving Joao Gomes, and then, on the stroke of half-time, Jackson rolled the ball into an empty net after Torres’ long ball over the top beat Sommer off his line. It was Jackson’s first Villa goal since his club-record £65 million move from Chelsea, and it gave Villa a 3-1 lead they carried into the interval.
The second half was less comfortable. Nicolò Tresoldi converted a penalty in the 61st minute to make it 3-2 and set up a nervy final half-hour. Brugge pressed, Villa defended, and Suzuki was called upon more than once. But Emery’s side held on, confirming that this new group — however unsettled it may appear — has the resilience to close out tight European matches.
The statistics told a familiar Villa story on the road in Europe. Club Brugge controlled 62 percent of possession and completed nearly 600 passes. Villa had 38 percent of the ball and three goals. It was the first time in their European history that Villa had scored three times away from home before half-time. Their Champions League win percentage since returning to European competition now stands at 64.3 percent — the best of any side currently in the competition.
For Emery, the victory validated a recruitment strategy that has not yet had time to bed in. Ten players have arrived this summer to replace a spine that helped deliver the Europa League title in Turkey last season. The manager has called for patience, and he is right to do so. What this performance offered is early evidence that the instincts he has built into this club — tactical discipline, a willingness to absorb pressure and attack with precision — have transferred to a largely new group of players.
McGinn, Villa’s longest-serving player, embodies that continuity. It was his energy and his goal that set the tone in Bruges. Teenager George Hemmings, making his Champions League debut, passed up two early chances to add to the lead but showed enough to suggest Villa’s youth pipeline remains healthy. Buendía’s goal was his 25th in the Champions League for Villa collectively — making them the eighth English club to reach that milestone in the competition.
The road ahead is unforgiving. Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, Borussia Dortmund and Galatasaray all await in the league phase. Villa next face Nottingham Forest in the Premier League before returning to European duty against Fenerbahce.
But for one night in Belgium, the goals came. The win came. And after a difficult opening to the season, that is the only thing that matters.
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