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English side Aston Villa began their UEFA Champions League campaign with a valuable 3-2 away win against Belgian hosts Club Brugge on Tuesday at the Jan Breydel Stadium, as part of the first round of the league phase.
Aston Villa secured their first 3 points in the continental tournament, marking a perfect start to their campaign before hosting Turkey's Fenerbahçe in the next round, while Club Brugge remains without points and will travel to face Italy's Inter Milan.
Aston Villa started the match strongly, with Scotsman John McGinn opening the scoring in the 11th minute with a precise left-footed shot from inside the penalty area following a pass from Spaniard Pau Torres.
The hosts' response was swift, as Norwegian Hugo Vetlesen equalized for Club Brugge in the 19th minute, before Argentine Emiliano Buendía restored the lead for the English side with a second goal in the 22nd minute, assisted by Brazilian João Gomes.
Before the end of the first half, new Senegalese signing Nicolas Jackson extended the "Villans'" lead with a third goal in the 43rd minute, capitalizing on a grave error by the Belgian team's Swiss goalkeeper, Yann Sommer.
In the second half, Club Brugge managed to narrow the gap through German Nicolo Tresoldi, who scored from a penalty kick in the 61st minute following a handball by Congolese Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
Despite the hosts' attempts in the remaining minutes to find an equalizer, Aston Villa held onto their lead until the final whistle, emerging with a valuable 3-2 victory.
In another match, Greece's AEK Athens defeated their guests, Austria's LASK Linz, by a single goal, scored by Romanian Zervan Gabriel Marin in the 21st minute with a brilliant direct free-kick.
The Video Assistant Referee (VAR) disallowed another goal for the hosts, scored by Serbian Luka Jović in the 64th minute, due to offside.
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