Aston Villa beat Club Brugge 3-2 in their Champions League opener, The Guardian reported, after scoring all three of their goals before the break.
John McGinn opened the scoring, Emi Buendía added a second and Nicolas Jackson scored his first goal for Villa in claret and blue as Unai Emery’s side built a 3-1 lead by 43 minutes.
Club Brugge briefly fought back after a penalty, but Villa held on for their first win of the season and Emery called it an important step forward.
The result gives Villa three points at the start of the league phase and some momentum before their next league match against Nottingham Forest, as referenced by Emery after the game.
Corrections
- Source check, 13 October 2026: Villa led 3-1 at half-time; Tresoldi scored a second-half penalty for Brugge. The narrative records Villa’s three first-half goals and two Brugge goals, Vetlesen and Tresoldi. The match narrative has 3-1 at the interval and a subsequent Brugge penalty goal. The Guardian final score is Club Brugge 2-3 Aston Villa; 1-3 was the half-time score. Source distinguishes half-time from final score.
- Further source check: This is Villa’s match against Club Brugge; John McGinn scoring is not a permanent transfer to Aston Villa.