Aston Villa kicked off their Champions League campaign in style as they beat Young Boys 3-0 at the Wankdorf Stadium.
Goals from Youri Tielemans, Jacob Ramsey and Amadou Onana ensured Unai Emery started the newly-formatted Champions League with a win.
Onana’s strike wrapped up the victory but Jhon Duran thought he had added a third minutes earlier, controversially celebrating in front of the Young Boys ultras before the goal was ruled out for a handball in the build up.
Aston Villa started slowly as they took time to adapt to the artificial surface in Switzerland but grew into the game before Tielemans continued his fine start to the campaign by opening the scoring on 27 minutes.
Just as pleasing for Emery will be the fact Villa kept a clean sheet away from home and Ezri Konsa was one player who was key to that.
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Ezri Konsa posts about Aston Villa Champions League ‘dream’
Konsa signed for Villa when they were in the Championship, with the Villans paying Brentford £12 million for his services.
The centre-back’s progression has been remarkable and he has now followed up representing England at Euro 2024 with his Champions League debut.
Konsa started the game at centre-back alongside Pau Torres but shifted to right-back as Lamare Bogarde was replaced by Diego Carlos at half-time.
Following the win, Konsa took to Instagram where he posted an image of him on the ball, with the caption: “It’s always been a dream of mine to play in the champions league. Tonight that dream came true with a win. Thank you for the travelling support it was incredible.”
Morgan Rogers and Declan Rice respond to Konsa Champions League debut
Konsa rarely looked troubled against Young Boys and Villa fans have grown accustomed to his calm presence at the heart of the defence.
He will have far greater tests than on Tuesday night in the Champions league, though, with Harry Kane and Bayern Munich coming to Villa Park next.
- READ MORE: Ezri Konsa shares Harry Kane conversation about Aston Villa and Bayern Munich Champions League tie
However, team-mates at club and international were quick to respond to Konsa’s Instagram post, with Declan Rice, and Bogarde posting heart emojis in response.
Morgan Rogers, who also impressed in his first taste of the Champions League, responded by saying: “I’ll say it again, the best.”
Villa fans certainly won’t disagree with this sentiment as Konsa has established himself as a real favourite amongst supporters for his consistently excellent displays.
