Club Brugge 2-3 Aston Villa: McGinn shines as Villans win five-goal thriller | OneFootball

Aston Villa got their season up and running in Belgium this evening, with an entertaining 3-2 win over Club Brugge thanks to goals from John McGinn, Emiliano Buendía and Nicolas Jackson.

McGinn gave Villa an early lead, netting his first goal of the season from the edge of the area with a superb curling finish into the bottom corner. However, Brugge equalised shortly after through Hugo Vetlesen’s sweeping strike from the middle of the box. Villa regained their advantage just a few minutes later when Buendía lifted the ball over Sommer from close range. Jackson made it three before half-time, knocking the ball past the keeper before tapping it into an empty net.

Aaron Wan-Bissaka gave away a penalty on the hour mark, which was duly converted by Nicolo Tresoldi to get Brugge back in the game, but it only proved to be a consolation in the end.

As it happened

Aston Villa made three changes following their 0-0 draw with Hull City on Saturday night, as Pau Torres, Wan-Bissaka and João Gomes replaced Ross Barkley, Tyrone Mings and Matty Cash. Meanwhile, Club Brugge made two changes, with Carlos Forbs and Jan Virgili replacing Mamadou Diakhon and Romeo Vermant.

The first chance of the evening fell to Buendía, but the Argentinian’s shot curled wide of the post. Sandro Schärer didn’t take long to get his cards out, booking Ian Maatsen for dissent early on. Zion Suzuki was forced into the first save of the night moments later, denying Virgili’s effort.

Villa took the lead in the 10th minute, when McGinn’s curling strike from the corner off the box found the bottom corner for his side’s first competitive goal since their 2-1 defeat in the UEFA Super Cup almost a month ago. A comedic moment followed, as Yann Sommer appeared to drop and then immediately catch the ball outside of his area, giving away a free-kick in a dangerous area; however, Buendia’s shot struck the wall.

George Hemmings came close minutes later, flicking a shot wide from inside the penalty area. Brugge levelled the score in the 18th minute when Vetlesen swept the ball home from the centre of the box.

The goals continued to fly, with Villa regaining their advantage just a few short minutes later through Buendía, who lifted the ball over Sommer from close range. McGinn came close to adding a third for the visitors on the half-hour mark, forcing Sommer into a strong save to deny his long-distance strike.

At the other end of the pitch, Villa made it three when Jackson beat an onrushing Sommer to the ball and flicked it past him before tapping it into an empty net, meaning they headed into the break 3-1 to the good.

McGinn continued to dominate the game in the early stages of the second half, breaking through the Brugge defence before firing his shot over the crossbar. An on-field VAR review took place on the hour mark, which saw Schärer penalise Wan-Bissaka for handball inside the area, awarding Brugge a penalty. Tresoldi stepped up and tucked it away with ease from 12 yards.

Virgili was shown a yellow card shortly after for a foul on McGinn inside the hosts’ half. A triple change followed for Villa, as Wan-Bissaka, Buendia and Boubacar Kamara were replaced by Lamare Bogarde, Barkley and Alysson Edward. Tresoldi came inches away from an equaliser moments later, when his header struck the post before being collected by Suzuki.

Ivan Leko made a double substitution with little more than 10 minutes left on the clock, introducing Cheveyo Tsawa and Félix Lemaréchal in favour of Vetlesen and Hans Vanaken. Meanwhile, Unai Emery replaced Jackson with Tammy Abraham. Moments later, Bogarde saw his powerful effort cleared off the line by Joaquin Seys. McGinn was shown a yellow card between the two substitutions.

More changes followed for the hosts, with Vermant and Diakhon replacing Freddie Potts and Virgili. Vermant made his way into the referee’s notebook almost immediately, as did Villa’s Gomes.

Brugge failed to create any clear-cut chances throughout the four additional minutes, meaning Villa picked up a crucial 3-2 win to kickstart their season.