Aston Villa coasted into the quarter-finals of the Champions League with a comfortable victory over 10-man Club Brugge as Marco Asensio struck twice to set up a clash with his parent club Paris Saint-Germain.
Club Brugge had a mountain to climb after last week’s 3-1 defeat in Belgium and the task became even harder when right back Kyriani Sabbe was shown a straight red card in the 15th minute for fouling Marcus Rashford on the edge of the box.
Sabbe was the last man and was sent off for denying a goalscoring opportunity - but it did not take until the second half for Aston Villa to press home their advantage.
Asensio and Leon Bailey came off the bench and combined as the Spaniard continued his excellent form to hook a finish into the top corner. Ian Maatsen added another five minutes later, with Asensio then scoring his second from Rashford’s pass.
Villa played the rest of the game on cruise control and can now look forward to a quarter-final clash with Liverpool’s conquerors PSG, in a match that will see Unai Emery face his former club and Asensio play against the team he’s on loan from.
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Aston Villa 0-0 Club Brugge
4 mins: Interesting to see Maatsen get the call tonight. He was a Champions League finalist with Borussia Dortmund last season. Hasn’t quite hit the ground running on his first season at Villa. .
Aston Villa 0-0 Club Brugge
2 mins: Not quite the same start as in Madrid, where Atletico have scored inside 20 seconds against the holders...
Club Brugge start off with plenty of the ball. A long throw is cleared after a foul on Cash.
KICK-OFF! Aston Villa 0-0 Club Brugge
What a noise! The Villa fans have turned up. Can Unai Emery’s side do the same and make it to the quarter-finals.
Aston Villa vs Club Brugge
Five minutes to go until kick-off and Villa Park is rocking.
A huge Tifo in the Holte End gives the message: ‘Prepared’.
It’s spine-tingling as the players walk out to the Champions League anthem.
Reminder of the team news and how to watch
Aston Villa XI: Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Mings, Maatsen; Kamara, Tielemans; McGinn, Rogers, Rashford; Watkins.
Club Brugge XI: Mignolet; Sabbe, Ordonez, Mechele, De Cuyper; Onyedika, Jashari; Talbi, Vanaken, Tzolis; Jutgla.
Viewers in the United Kingdom can watch the match live on TNT Sports 1. Subscribers can stream the action via discovery+.
'Historic night on the cards for Aston Villa'
Quite a few occasions for Aston Villa in Unai Emery's reign have been historic. This could be another if Villa reach a European Cup quarter-final for the first time in more than four decades. They have Emi Martinez back while Emery has selected Marcus Rashford, with the multiple Champions League winner Marco Asensio held in reserve. They ought to be too good for Club Brugge.
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