Brugge 2-3 Aston Villa: McGinn & Torres inspire Champions League comeback win (full highlights)

Aston Villa kicked off their Champions League campaign in dramatic fashion, securing a thrilling 3-2 victory over Club Brugge at the Jan Breydel Stadium. The visitors showed immense character to bounce back after conceding a quick equaliser. John McGinn opened the scoring on 11 minutes, finishing from Pau Torres' pinpoint cross. Hugo Vetlesen levelled for the hosts on 19 minutes, but Emiliano Buendía restored Villa's lead just three minutes later after a clever pass from João Gomes. Nicolas Jackson extended the advantage to 3-1 on 43 minutes with a composed finish after a swift counter-attack, once again orchestrated by Torres. Nicolò Tresoldi pulled one back for Brugge on 61 minutes following a defensive error from the visitors, setting up a tense finale. Villa held on despite late pressure and several yellow cards. The statistics were evenly matched, with Brugge registering 14 attempts and Villa 13, though the English side were more clinical with six shots on target. Pau Torres was named man of the match for his two assists. With this result, Villa top the group stage standings, while Brugge are rooted to 30th. The question now is whether Unai Emery's men can replicate this display against Real Sociedad next week.