Aston Villa attack clicks in thrilling win over Club Brugge — SkimNews
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- Aston Villa beat Club Brugge 3-2 in their Champions League league phase opener, scoring all three goals (McGinn 11th, Buendia 22nd, Jackson 43rd) in a dominant first-half display at Jan Breydel stadium.
- Nicolas Jackson scored his first goal since joining Villa in a club-record £65m move, beating goalkeeper Yann Sommer to a long ball from Pau Torres and slotting into an empty net.
- The result ended Villa's three-game Premier League goal drought — they had failed to score in any of their opening league matches and managed just one shot on target across those games.
- Villa recorded 21 shots with nine on target, with Pau Torres instrumental in both the opener (driving run out of defence to set up McGinn) and the third goal (long ball for Jackson).
- Club Brugge twice hit back through Hugo Vetlesen's 19th-minute finish and Nicolo Tresoldi's 61st-minute penalty, the latter awarded after the referee reviewed a handball by Aaron Wan-Bissaka on the pitchside monitor.
- The win was Unai Emery's side's first victory of the season and marked Villa's return to the Champions League as holders of the Europa League.
Why it matters: Villa's 21-shot, nine-on-target attacking display directly answered doubts raised by their three-match Premier League goal drought and validated Emery's club-record £65m outlay on Jackson, who broke his duck. With Brugge twice equalising — once through open play, once via a VAR-reviewed penalty — Villa showed they can absorb late pressure when the attack falters.
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