Who needs Watkins? Malen scores twice and exposes Young Boys’ disgrace

In a match where Aston Villa were the favourites, they ultimately secured the win thanks to goals from Donyell Malen. The visitors did manage to bring some late drama into the game, but that was as far as it went.

Aston Villa dominated the first half of their Europa League clash with Young Boys, producing a confident and controlled performance marked by sharp attacking play — and unfortunately, by disgraceful scenes in the stands.

The hosts threatened early. In the 5th minute, Donyell Malen came close to adding to his season’s tally when he smashed a rising strike from 20 yards, only for goalkeeper Marvin Keller to tip it over brilliantly. From the ensuing corner, Amadou Onana awkwardly bundled a chance over the bar from 10 yards with his thigh or knee — a moment that was anything but intentional.

Villa kept pushing. Youri Tielemans tried his luck from distance in the 14th minute, but his low effort went straight at Keller. Their biggest missed opportunity came in the 25th minute, when Morgan Rogers delivered a perfect cross, Onana headed the ball back across goal, and Malen — positioned to score — completely air-kicked. The ball slipped under him, effectively nutmegging him via his own teammate.

But Malen wouldn’t be denied for long. In the 27th minute, he broke the deadlock, darting between two defenders to meet Tielemans’ delivery with a powerful header. Keller got a touch, but only pushed it onto the post before it bounced in. The goal celebrations were spoiled, however, by an ugly reaction from the away end, where objects were hurled at the Villa striker. The goal is HERE!

Villa’s second goal in the 42nd minute was pure quality. Rogers danced past a man in the center circle and threaded a precise ball through to Malen, who cut inside a defender and finished calmly inside the box to make it 2–0. Villa were fully in control. The goal is HERE!

This spell of the match was overshadowed by shameful behavior from Young Boys supporters, who threw objects at players and clashed with police. The confrontation caused the match to be briefly stopped as security regained control.

Early in the second half, Villa nearly extended their lead again. In the 51st minute, Jadon Sancho powered a drive from 18 yards, but Keller parried it away. Two minutes later, Malen thought he had completed his hat-trick after finishing a cut-back from Rogers — but the flag went up, with Rogers clearly offside in the build-up.

In the 69th minute, Ross Barkley tried to spark some life into the visitors with a powerful strike from around 20 meters out, but his shot flashed wide of the post.

Just a minute later, in the 70th minute, Young Boys thought they had halved the deficit. After a well-worked move, Bedia received the ball inside the box and fired into what was essentially an open net. The celebrations didn’t last long, though — a lengthy three-minute VAR check followed, ultimately confirming that the Swiss side’s attacker had been in an offside position. The goal was ruled out, and Villa’s two-goal cushion remained intact.

In the 83rd minute, Ollie Watkins nearly sealed the match with a third. Bursting down the right flank on the counter, he unleashed a strong effort, but his shot went straight at Keller, who held firm to deny him.

In the 90th minute, Joel Monteiro produced a moment of real quality, bringing down a lofted pass on his chest before smashing a first-time volley from roughly 18 yards into Emiliano Martinez’s net. The goal is HERE!

UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE

Matchday 5

Thursday

Aston Villa - Young Boys 2-1 (2-0)

/Malen 27, 42 - Monteiro 90/

Fenerbahce - Ferencvaros 1-1 (0-0)

/Talisca 69 - Varga 66/

Feyenoord - Celtic 1-3 (1-2)

/Ueda 11 - Hyun-Jun 31, Hatate 43, Nygren 82

Lille - Dinamo Zagreb 4-0 (2-0)

/Correia 21, Mukau 36, Igamane 69, Andre 86/

Ludogorets - Celta 3-2 (1-0)

/Stanic 11 pen, 49, 62 pen - Duran 70, El-Abdellaoui 90+6/

PAOK - Brann 1-1 (0-0)

/Ivanusec 64 - Kornvig 89/

Plzen - Freiburg 0-0

Porto - Nice 3-0 (2-0)

/Veiga 1, 33, Aghehowa 61 pen/

Roma - Midtjylland 2-1 (1-0)

/El Aynaoui 7, El Shaarawy 83 - Paulinho 86/

23.00: (1.37) Betis (5.10) Utrecht (10.0)

23.00: (1.40) Bologna (4.60) Salzburg (8.00)

23.00: (1.48) Crvena Zvezda (4.85) FCSB (7.75)

23.00: (2.05) Genk (4.05) Basel (3.40)

23.00: (7.50) Go Ahead Eagles (4.60) Stuttgart (1.42)

23.00: (4.50) Maccabi T.A. (4.00) Olympique Lyon (1.80)

23.00: (1.25) Nottingham Forest (6.50) Malmo (14.0)

23.00: (1.72) Panathinaikos (3.60) Sturm (5.20)

23.00: (3.40) Rangers (3.50) Braga (2.25)

***odds are subject to change***