Aston Villa Edges Club Brugge 3-2 in Champions League Opener

Aston Villa held their nerve in a wild Champions League opener, edging Club Brugge 3-2 at a raucous Jan Breydel Stadium to launch their 2026-27 league phase campaign with three precious points.

Emery’s side did not bother with a cautious European feel-out. They went straight for the throat.

John McGinn struck first, and early. On 11 minutes, the Villa captain arrived with perfect timing to finish and silence the home crowd, capping a blistering start from the visitors that set the tone for a breathless first half.

The silence did not last.

Brugge hit back almost immediately, roared on by their supporters. Just eight minutes after falling behind, Hugo Vetlesen finished from a Jan Virgili pass to drag the Belgians level at 1-1 and flip the noise back in the hosts’ favour.

The game threatened to tilt Brugge’s way. It didn’t. Villa reset, tightened their grip on the ball and struck again.

On 22 minutes, Emiliano Buendia restored the lead, ghosting into space and coolly slotting home after being picked out by Joao Gomes. It was a composed finish in a frantic contest, the kind of moment that underlined Villa’s cutting edge in the final third.

The pressure on Brugge mounted, and just before the break Villa landed what looked like a decisive blow.

With 43 minutes on the clock, summer signing Nicolas Jackson seized his moment. The striker buried his first official goal for the club, a sharp finish that capped a sweeping move and sent Villa into the dressing room with a commanding 3-1 advantage. For Emery, it was the ideal half: ruthless in attack, clinical when chances came.

Brugge, though, refused to fold.

They came out after the restart with renewed aggression, pinning Villa back for spells and forcing the visitors to defend deeper than they would have liked. The pressure finally brought a lifeline just before the hour.

In the 59th minute, Joaquin Seys chased a header from Nicolo Tresoldi inside the area and tried to whip a cross into the box. The ball struck the arm of Aaron Wan-Bissaka, and under current Champions League handball regulations, the referee pointed to the spot. The stadium erupted. Brugge had the route back they craved.

Tresoldi stepped up and showed no hint of doubt. He sent Zion Suzuki the wrong way from 12 yards, coolly rolling the ball home to make it 3-2 and ignite a tense, nervous finale in Belgium.

From there, it became a test of Villa’s resolve.

Brugge threw men forward, chased second balls and forced Emery’s side into a series of last-ditch interventions. Crosses flew into the box, the crowd sensed an equaliser, and the tempo rose with every passing minute.

Villa did not buckle. They dug in, closed spaces, and managed the final stages with a steely edge that will please Emery as much as any of the attacking fluency that came before. When the whistle finally went, the visitors had clung on to their narrow lead and walked away with a hard-earned away win to open their European campaign.

Now, the attention turns back to the Premier League. Villa must quickly park the drama of Bruges and reset for a domestic test against Nottingham Forest.

For Club Brugge, the task is different but just as urgent: absorb the sting of a near-miss in Europe, then respond when Antwerp arrive in the Belgian Pro League.