Aston Villa make perfect start on Champions League return after 41-year absence
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Aston Villa's Amadou Onana (centre) celebrates with fellow midfielder Youri Tielemans (centre, right) and teammates after scoring his team's third goal.
PHOTO: AFP
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BERN – Aston Villa made a stylish return to the Champions League with a 3-0 win at Swiss side Young Boys on Sept 17 in their first game in the tournament for 41 years.
Villa boss Unai Emery had urged his team to take all three points in Bern as a tribute to the club’s former striker Gary Shaw, who died on Sept 16 aged 63
Shaw’s tragic death carried extra poignancy as he was a key member of the Villa side that shocked Bayern Munich in the 1982 European Cup final.
A picture of Shaw celebrating Peter Withe’s winner against Bayern adorns Villa’s training ground and the players wore black armbands during their Champions League opener in memory of the local hero.
Clad in the No. 8 shirt that Shaw made his own at Villa, it was fitting that Youri Tielemans opened the scoring against Young Boys and celebrated by pointing to his jersey.
Jacob Ramsey bagged Villa’s second goal before the interval and Amadou Onana added the third in the closing stages as Emery’s men eased to a victory four decades in the making.
“We want to dedicate this victory to Gary Shaw, his family and all of the Aston Villa family,” Emery said.
“Forty two years (ago), they achieved winning the Champions League. We want to try and follow what that team achieved.”
Villa are back in the Champions League after surprisingly finishing fourth in the English Premier League last term.
Clashes with Bayern and Juventus await among their remaining seven fixtures in the revamped league stage of the competition.
But this cathartic victory will forever hold a special place for Villa fans, given their remarkable return to relevance since Emery was hired to replace the sacked Steven Gerrard in 2022.
Just five years ago, Villa were stuck in English football’s second tier, with dreams of facing Europe’s elite reserved for only the most optimistic supporters.
Anticipation over their first Champions League tie since 1983 had been building for months and the Villa fans crammed into a corner of Stadion Wankdorf let out a jubilant roar when the tournament anthem was played before kick-off.
Prince William, a noted Villa fan, sent Emery’s team a good luck message ahead of their “European adventure” and his team responded with a well-drilled display on Young Boys’ treacherous artificial pitch.
“We were adapting at the beginning to the plastic pitch, it’s very different,” the 52-year-old Spaniard added.
“It’s very important how we got the win, by respecting the opponents and being responsible.
“We were mature, organised and imposing throughout the game.” AFP
Aston Villa’s Jacob Ramsey (centre) scores his team’s second goal against Young Boys goalkeeper David von Ballmoos (left).
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
