Aston Villa makes a strong return to the Champions League with a convincing victory
After a 41-year absence from Europe’s top club competition, Aston Villa are back in the big time – and in some style.
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On an evening when Villa supporters paid tribute to late club legend Gary Shaw, Unai Emery's team delivered a performance the former striker and his fellow 1982 European Cup winners would have been proud of to defeat Swiss champions Young Boys 3-0 in Bern.
Youri Tielemans, Jacob Ramsey and Amadou Onana got the goals on a comfortable night for the visitors, who would have won by a greater margin had Ollie Watkins and Jhon Duran not had efforts disallowed by the video assistant referee (VAR).
The result marks the latest milestone in Villa's remarkable transformation under Emery, who has now triumphed in 89 European matches since 2009-10 - more than any other manager apart from Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho.
"He's an absolute genius," former Villa defender Stephen Warnock told BBC Radio 5 Live. "When you go into the Champions League, you need a manager who is adaptable and understands tactics, and knows how to change things very, very quickly.
"It's worked out so well for him and for Aston Villa. He's magnificent."
Villa took a while to acclimatise to the Stadion Wankdorf’s artificial surface but never looked back once Tielemans had put them ahead, and can now look forward to welcoming German giants Bayern Munich to Villa Park next month in a repeat of their victorious 1982 final.
'This has been my dream for a long, long time'
Emery, who led Villa to the Europa Conference League semi-finals last season, was quick to dedicate Tuesday's win to Shaw, who died on Monday from injuries sustained in a heavy fall.
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Only Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho have won more European club competition games than Unai Emery, who is now on 89 victories
"We [continued in] the Champions league the way they finished 42 years ago," he told TNT Sports. "This win is for Gary Shaw and his family."
"It was a difficult game. Our experiences last year [in the Europa Conference League] showed us that. We focused very well for 90 minutes to be consistent. We were adapting to the pitch and always respected [our opponents]."
It has taken Emery less than two years to guide Villa from 16th place in the Premier League to the Champions League's new-look league phase – a transformation few believed possible when the Spaniard replaced Steven Gerrard in November 2022.
"This has been my dream for a long, long time," said Villa fan Paul, who travelled to Bern with fellow supporters Tony and Scott to watch their side make a long-awaited return to Europe's biggest stage. "We actually came without tickets. [We've] had a bit of a party."
Tony, meanwhile, is confident Emery's team can claim a place in the last 16 of the competition, which gets under way in March next year.
"If you can get 10 or 11 points from your games, you've got a good chance of progressing," he said. "Villa are growing. We're back where we should be."