Aston Villa 3-0 (6-1) Club Brugge Player Ratings: Marco Asensio’s brace off the bench powers Villa into the quarters

Aston Villa returns to the quarter-finals of the Champions League after making easy work of Club Brugge with a 3-0 win (6-1 on aggregate)at Villa Park. The Belgian champions started better but were undone by a poor last-man challenge from Kyriani Sabbe. Aston Villa turned up the heat in the second half as Marco Asensio came off the bench to grab a brace that sandwiched Ian Maatsen’s goal and seal the qualification for Villa.

Both sides named near identical lineups from the first-leg clash in Belgium. Unai Emery’s favourite system of 4-2-3-1 was matched by Nicky Hayen. It was down to individuals once again to dominate the pitch with their skills and make a difference. Club Brugge were chasing the game and had to show their intent from the go.

Aston Villa cherished its first knockout tie in decades as Villa Park was at its vibrant best. Club Brugge though made a strong start to the game. They picked up from where they left off in the first leg by dominating the ball and playing out from the back. They were aggressive in their press and their passes had a purpose.

Kyriani Sabbe the Brugge right-back forced a mistake from Villa and had a shot on target. However, he quickly became the villain for his side when he tripped Marcus Rashford who was running through on goal after Emiliano Martinez’s long ball found its way to him. The straight red card made Brugge’s task almost impossible now.

Nonetheless, the Belgian champions didn’t give up even when they were a player down. They combined brave passing with skills as they played it around Aston Villa multiple times. There was an air of tension around the Villa Park as the home side struggled to contain the visitors.

It would come for naught as Brugge lacked a cutting edge to generate clear-cut chances. Going into halftime, their task only got harder as they were a player down and a half down in their two-goal chase. Unai Emery wasn’t impressed with his side’s lack of intent and switched things up at halftime by introducing two attackers.

The changes worked wonders for Unai Emery as Marco Asensio and Leon Bailey combined in the 50th minute to give Aston Villa the lead. Asensio picked up a central position and ran at the defence and ended up getting the ball from Bailey in the box. He swung his right foot at it and blasted it past Mignolet into the roof of the net.

Just moments later Youri Tielemans found Asensio with a chip and the Spaniard hit the post with only Mignolet left to beat. Ian Maatsen’s attacking intent was paid in full in the 57th minute when he tapped Morgan Rogers’ cross home via a deflection. This goal put the result beyond doubt as Aston Villa sealed the game and the tie.

It was turning very ugly for Club Brugge as they were torn apart for fun. Rashford teed Asensio from the left as the Spaniard swept home from close range to make it a thrashing.

The visitors’ spirits dropped and it became a slow slog fest till the final whistle as the hosts kept running the show and waited for the whistle to start partying.

Aston Villa are making waves in Europe and cruised into the quarter-finals in style. They will face a PSG side in full flow in the last 8 tie in early April. The squad will have a well-earned 15-day vacation as they blank in the league on the weekend followed by an international break. They return to action with an FA Cup quarter-final against Preston on March 30th.

Club Brugge’s dream run comes to an end in Europe’s premier cup competition as they couldn’t repeat the heroics from the Atalanta clash. They will continue their domestic journey with a clash against Sporting Charleroi on Sunday.

Aston Villa Player Ratings

GK – Emiliano Martinez – 6/10

Barely had anything to do in the game except claim and punch some crosses away as Brugge lacked a genuine goal threat.

RB – Matty Cash – 6.5/10

Involved in a battle with Tzolis in the first half. Did enjoy greater attacking freedom in the second.

CB – Ezri Konsa – 7/10

Front-footed on the night, he charged at Brugge’s defenders when he had the chance to nick the ball away.

CB – Tyrone Mings – 7/10

Used his physicality to shrug Jugtla out a few times and held his line with confidence.

LB – Ian Maatsen – 7.5/10

Had the license to attack and joined Rashford multiple times on the left flank. Took a decent punt at Mignolet from outside the box. Got his reward in the second half when he scored a tap-in to double Villa’s lead.

DM – Boubacar Kamara – 6.5/10

Slowly grew into the game with few crunching tackles to steal the ball. Started joining the attack to give them an extra edge. Replaced for an attacker at halftime.

DM – Youri Tielemans – 7/10

Stayed deep and dictated play for Villa. Had a good shot from outside the box too. Dictated Villa’s tempo in the second half.

RW – John McGinn – 6.5/10

Tried to keep it tight defensively and played some good passes forward. He dropped into the midfield as Villa turned on the heat.

CAM – Morgan Rogers – 7/10

Kept switching with McGinn on the wings to hold the ball and struggled for fluency at times. Found Maatsen with a good cross following a decent skill and picked up an assist.

LW – Marcus Rashford – 7.5/10

Made some sloppy passes but inevitably he’s a threat generator as his run led to the tackle that resulted in a red card for Brugge. Darted into the box and found the outside side netting after a neat move. Created chance after chance in the second half and assisted Asensio.

ST – Ollie Watkins – 6/10

Had a great chance running in on goal but he allowed the centreback to recover and make a tackle from behind. Tested Mignolet with a tame effort from 40 yards. Withdrawn at halftime as Emery chose to use Rashford as the striker.

Sub – Marco Asensio- 8.5/10

Came on and took over the number 10 position. Showed his quality as he picked up the ball and started running immediately. Two well-taken finishes to continue his impressive start at Aston Villa.

Sub – Leon Bailey- 7/10

Held the width on the right and created an opening for Asensio.

Sub – Pau Torres – 6/10

Sub – Jacob Ramsey – 6/10

Sub – Axel Disasi- 6/10

Manager – Unai Emery – 7/10

His side had the luxury to lose and still progress but the way they played in the first half deserved criticism. Unai Emery tweaked personnel and positions and reaped the rewards in the second half as they ran riot against a 10-man Brugge.

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Club Brugge Player Ratings

GK – Simon Mignolet – 6/10

Involved in a lot of playing out from the back as usual and was smart with the ball. Was beaten way too easily in the second half during the Villa onslaught.

RB – Kyriani Sabbe – 3/10

Started the game with a shot from outside the box signalling his intent for the night. Lost the post as he made a foolish challenge on Marcus Rashford who was played through on goal. His red card cost his side as they were looking to build some momentum. His side could’ve really done with an extra man as they pushed Villa throughout the night.

CB – Joel Ordonez – 6/10

Matched Ollie Watkins stride for stride when he caught up with him from behind to deny the English striker from shooting while clean through with the goalkeeper. Part of the defence fell apart in the second period.

CB – Brandon Mechele – 6/10

Made a lot of smart recoveries and was the main trigger for Brugge playing it around Villa’s first line of press. His concentration levels dipped multiple times as he failed to pick runners.

LB – Maxim De Cuyper – 7/10

His attacking intent from the flanks kept Brugge ticking as he displayed a full range of passing including the trivela passes and crosses to exploit Villa. Couldnt stand up defensively in the second half to Bailey and co.

DM – Ardon Jashari – 7/10

Very fluid on the ball as he picked up small pockets of spaces in the Villa midfield to play it around them. Showed how fragile they were when he switched off defensively in the second half.

DM – Raphael Onyedika – 6/10

Was more defensive and started sweeping the right wing when Brugge were a player down. Had to show an incredible work ethic to compensate for missing a player. Couldn’t continue with the same intensity past the break.

RW – Chemsdine Talbi – 5.5/10

Cut in from the wing and unleashed a lovely shot that was straight at Martinez. Was playing lovely give-and-go with the striker to keep moving.

CAM – Hans Vanaken – 6/10

The captain dropped deep and pulled strings for his side but never really created a clear-cut opportunity to give them a chance in the tie. Lost his discipline and lashed out to earn a yellow card.

LW – Christos Tzolis – 6.5/10

Full of running on the left as he made Cash restless on the left flank. Beat Cash for pace once or twice but didn’t produce anything tangible.

ST – Ferran Jutgla – 6/10

Involved in some neat link-up plays but rarely had the service to attack the box. Replaced on the hour mark for not being effective.

Sub – Zaid Romero – 6/10

Sub – Casper Nielsen – 6/10

Sub – Gustaf Nilsson – 6/10

Sub – Michal Skoras – 6/10

Sub – Hugo Siquet – 6/10

Manager – Nicky Hayen – 6/10

Set his team up positively as they started brightly. The red card did hamper their momentum but it couldn’t hide the fact that they lacked genuine creativity apart from keeping the ball well. It was a defensive catastrophe in the second half as they fell like a pack of cards.

Sportsdunia’s Player of the Match goes to: Marco Asensio

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