Credit: Imago

Zak Anderton

Wed 12 March 2025 21:58, UK

Aston Villa beat Club Brugge 3-0 on Wednesday night to round off a 6-1 aggregative victory and qualify for the Champions League quarter-finals.

The Villans started on the backfoot against Brugge but after Kyriani Sabbe was sent off, the game was turned on its head.

However, it wasn’t until the start of the second half of the game that the deadlock was broken by Marco Asensio after he rounded off a lovely team goal with a coolly-placed finish.

Ian Maatsen also got his name on the scoresheet as he netted Villa’s second of the tie with Asensio cropping up once again to earn Unai Emery’s men a place in the quarter-finals.

Here, Aston Villa News rates the players out of 10.

Aston Villa player ratings v Club Brugge

Emiliano Martinez – 6

Back to his best after missing the Villans’ last game against Brentford with his 70-yard pass being the turning point in the game as Sabbe was sent off for a foul on Marcus Rashford.

Matty Cash – 5 (Off for Axel Disasi, 73′)

Didn’t have all that much of a say on the game but he did manage to keep Christos Tzolis quiet which is an impressive achievement.

Ezri Konsa – 6

Put his body on the line more than once to keep Villa’s lead and he managed to keep Ferran Jutgla out of the tie with his man-marking.

Tyrone Mings – 6 (Off for Pau Torres, 66′)

Mings was left flat-footed by Hans Vanaken a couple of times but put in yet another solid defensive performance aside from that.

Ian Maatsen gamble pays off for Emery

Ian Maatsen – 7

Emery’s choice to start the Dutchman over Lucas Digne paid off as he was a constant attacking threat throughout the game with the defender almost setting Marcus Rashford multiple times.

Boubacar Kamara – 5 (Off for Leon Bailey, 45)

Poor game from the Frenchman as he was entrusted to hold down the centre of the park with McGinn pushed forward but he failed to make the most of his opportunity.

Youri Tielemans – 6

Solid game from Tielemans, helped keep a nice balance between the defence and attack and put in plenty of effort to ensure Villa stayed ahead.

John McGinn – 6

Excelled in his much more advanced role within Emery’s team with his constant pressing seeming to cause Club Brugge a fair bit of trouble.

Morgan Rogers – 7 (Off for Jacob Ramsey, 66′)

Only decided to start performing after Villa netted their opener as he used his silky footwork to set Maatsen up to net his first goal for Emery’s men this season.

Marcus Rashford – 7

Villa’s bright spark in attack for the first 45, forced Sabbe to take him down and get himself sent off which turned the game on its head while he also assisted Asensio to bag his second of the tie.

Ollie Watkins – 4 (Off for Marcos Asensio, 45′)

Had another quiet night when leading Emery’s line and was carried by those around him as he rarely got a touch on the ball and failed to create anything.

Substitutes

Marco Asensio – 9 (On for Ollie Watkins, 45′)

Made an instant impact when brought on, scored the first goal of the game after finishing off a lovely team goal and was Villa’s shining light as he bagged a second.

Leon Bailey – 7 (On for Boubacar Kamara, 45′)

Much like Asensio, made all the difference when he was brought on with his outside-of-the-foot pass key in setting the Spaniard up for his goal.

Jacob Ramsey – 5 (On for Morgan Rogers, 66′)

Quiet game for the midfielder as he didn’t have all that much to do with Villa being 3-0 up.

Pau Torres – 6 (On for Tyrone Mings, 66′)

Nice to see the Spaniard back in action, helped keep the lead and was solid when called upon.

Axel Disasi – N/A (On for Matty Cash, 73′)