Premier league side Aston Villa have knocked out Raphael Onyedika’s Club Brugge from the Champions League, securing a resounding 6-1 aggregate victory to progress to the quarterfinals.
Aston Villa had gained a significant advantage in the first leg, winning 3-1 in Belgium with goals from Leon Bailey and Marco Asensio, as well as an own goal by Brandon Mechele. This meant Club Brugge faced a daunting task, requiring an extraordinary comeback to revive their Champions League aspirations.
Club Brugge’s hopes of a comeback was dealt a severe blow when Kyriani Sabbe received a red card just 17 minutes into the match for pulling down Marcus Rashford, who was through on goal.
The dismissal forced Club Brugge to adopt a more cautious approach, sacrificing some of their attacking ambitions. Nevertheless, they managed to maintain possession and prevent Aston Villa from extending their lead, despite being a man down.
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The breakthrough for Aston Villa came five minutes into the second half, as substitute Marco Asensio made an instant impact, scoring his sixth goal in eight games for the Premier League side. The home team’s momentum continued as Morgan Rogers set up Ian Maatsen, who fired home from close range, doubling Aston Villa’s lead on the night to 2-0 and extending their aggregate advantage to 5-1.
Club Brugge’s woes deepened as Marco Asensio struck again, netting his second goal of the match to stretch Aston Villa’s lead to 3-0 on the night and 6-1 on aggregate, thereby securing the Premier League side’s spot in the Champions League quarterfinals.
Following their Champions League exit, Club Brugge will shift their focus to the Belgian Pro League, where they are set to face Sporting Charleroi on Sunday. Meanwhile, Aston Villa will continue their European campaign, advancing to a highly anticipated quarterfinal showdown against Paris Saint-Germain.
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