Ahead of kick-off, all four teams in Group E of the UEFA Europa Conference League (UECL) had identical records, one win, one loss, and with zero goal difference. Despite that, Aston Villa knew that the task at hand was a tough one, but the English outfit got off to a perfect start, taking the lead inside the opening quarter-hour.
Villa pressed high and won the ball inside the opposition half, and Boubacar Kamara’s pass fortuitously deflected into the path of Leon Bailey, who took a touch and lashed the ball home into the bottom corner. Despite the protests from the Dutch side for a handball by the Jamaican, the goal stood.
Things soon went from bad to worse for AZ, as they fell two goals behind by the midway point of the first half.
Once more the hosts were caught in possession, but this time it was John McGinn doing the damage, and the Scottish international curled a sublime pass to Youri Tielemans, who, despite a poor first touch, still managed to slot the ball past Mathew Ryan.
Villa twice capitalised from winning the ball in the opposition box, but they almost fell foul to the same issue as Kamara was dispossessed on the edge of the area, but the prolific Vangelis Pavlidis failed to add to his 14 goals this season, shooting high and wide, ensuring the Villans went into the HT break with their two-goal lead intact.
The second half got off to a flyer as Villa notched twice within 10 minutes of the restart. The first arrived after Bailey was played through on goal and after seeing his shot parried, Ollie Watkins was on hand to tap-in the rebound.
Three quickly became four for Unai Emery’s side as Bailey was once again in the thick of the action, this time sliding the ball across the box for McGinn to poke home.
As the Villa fans began to chant “easy”, AZ went out to restore some pride and pulled a superb goal back.
Bruno Martins Indi played a long ball across the pitch to Ibrahim Sadiq, and the Ghanaian chested the ball down and fired a clinical finish across Emiliano Martínez.
In the end, the AZ goal proved to be nothing more than a consolation as Villa saw out the remainder of the match with ease, allowing Emery to take off some of his players ahead of their Premier League clash with Luton Town on Sunday after seeing his side seize control of the group.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Leon Bailey (Aston Villa)
