By Opta Analyst | Created at 2025-03-04 19:49:15 | Updated at 2025-03-04 23:10:46
3 hours ago
Aston Villa took advantage of two late errors from their opponents to put one foot in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals. Look back at the key action from the game with our Club Brugge vs Aston Villa stats report.
Aston Villa will take a two-goal advantage to Villa Park for the second leg of this Champions League last-16 tie after two late strikes helped them to a 3-1 victory over Club Brugge at Jan Breydelstadion.
Brugge can feel unlucky having more than matched Villa across the game, but two errors inside the final 10 minutes of this match might prove costly in the tie.
Villa took only 135 seconds to take the lead through Leon Bailey. The Jamaican powerfully hit a loose ball inside the box into the back of the net after Tyrone Mings had directed the ball into his path. It was another rapid start for Villa, who have now scored four times inside the opening five minutes of Champions League games this season – no side have ever scored more in a single UCL campaign.
It didn’t take long for Club Brugge to level the scores, though. Maxim De Cuyper surged forward from left-back, receiving the ball from Christos Tzolis before arrowing a shot across Emiliano Martínez and into the back of the Villa net. It was the home side’s first shot of any kind in the match.
Despite their good start, Villa struggled to make much impact in the remainder of the first half and the home side looked the more likely to take the lead.
That lead nearly came midway through the second half, but Mings did superbly to divert Hans Vanaken’s goal-bound header past the post with an acrobatic last-ditch clearance.
But it was Aston Villa that found a way to pick up a crucial victory to take into the second leg on 12 March with Club Brugge pressing the self-destruct button in a mad five-minute spell.
Villa retook the lead with just eight minutes remaining. Morgan Rogers fired in a low cross which Brugge central defender Mechele could only divert past Simon Mignolet and into his own goal with his outstretched leg.
Tzolis then brought down Matty Cash inside the box less than four minutes later to hand the Premier League club the chance to extend their lead further. Marco Asensio didn’t pass up that chance, converting his penalty kick to score his fifth goal across his last four games for Unai Emery’s side.
This was a win that Villa arguably didn’t deserve, but they won’t care as they hold a crucial two-goal lead and have one foot in the Champions League quarter-finals.
Our Opta match centre delivers you all the Club Brugge vs Aston Villa stats from their Champions League meeting at Jan Breydelstadion in Belgium.
The match centre below includes team and player stats, expected goals data, passing networks, an Opta chalkboard and more. It gives you everything you need to do your own post-match analysis.
Underneath the match centre you can find the official Opta stats on the game as well.
Club Brugge 1-3 Aston Villa Stats: Post-Match
- Aston Villa’s Marco Asensio became the first player to reach double figures for goals as a substitute in the UEFA Champions League, with 10 of his 13 goals in the competition coming from the bench.
- Of all teams to have played at least 35 home games in the UEFA Champions League, only Anderlecht (54%) and CSKA Moscow (51%) have lost a higher share of them than Club Brugge (46% – 17/37).
- Brandon Mechele’s own goal was the first Aston Villa have benefitted from in major European competition since October 1990, against Banik Ostrava in the UEFA Cup.
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