Aston Villa 6-0 Fenerbahçe: Nicolas Jackson and Barkley both score twice in big Champions League win

Aston Villa dismantled Fenerbahce with Nicolas Jackson and Ross Barkley scoring two each in a 6-0 Champions League win at Villa Park.

Match Report

Aston Villa recorded their biggest-ever win in European competition as Nicolas Jackson and Ross Barkley scored twice in a 6-0 rout of Fenerbahce in the Champions League. 

Johan Manzambi marked his Champions League debut with a goal before two goals in eight minutes from Jackson had Unai Emery's side cruising heading into the break. 

Barkley followed up his 68th-minute penalty with another goal moments later, with substitute Tammy Abraham adding further gloss to the scoreline in the 90th minute. 

The hosts started brightly as Barkley headed over following a clever corner routine before Ibrahim Mbaye cut inside and forced Ederson into making a comfortable save. 

But Villa had their goal in the 12th minute. Another short corner saw John McGinn's cross headed only as far as Manzambi, who took a touch before seeing his shot towards goal deflect off Milan Skriniar and wrong-foot Ederson. 

Fenerbahce did, however, respond well to going behind, but were met with two fine stops by Zion Suzuki. Vedat Muriqi was denied in quick succession by the Villa goalkeeper, first seeing his header saved at the near post before seeing his effort on the slide repelled.

And Emery's team doubled their advantage through Jackson, who moments after seeing his deflected shot saved by Ederson, picked out the bottom-right corner with a brilliant finish just after the half-hour mark. 

Oguz Aydin then thundered against the crossbar, but Villa pulled further clear six minutes before half-time, with Jackson doubling up with an arrowed strike into the same corner.The hosts continued where they left off in the second half, with McGinn and Mbaye calling Ederson into action before Matty Cash's deflected drive rippled the side-netting.

Mbaye was denied again by Ederson, but Villa were awarded a penalty when Manzambi was chopped down inside the area by Ismail Yuksek, with Barkley stepping up and sending the Fenerbahce goalkeeper the wrong way. 

And it got even better for Emery's side four minutes later as Barkley swept home his second, with his shot deflecting off Bartug Elmaz and nestling into the bottom-right corner. 

Suzuki preserved his clean sheet late on when he tipped over Aydin's attempt from a tight angle, with Villa scoring their sixth late on when Abraham tucked home after good work from Alysson to conclude a record-breaking encounter. 

Jackson hitting his stride as birthday boy Manzambi impresses

After a summer of change at Villa Park, the loss of Ollie Watkins looked like the biggest miss in Emery's ranks at the start of the season, but Jackson proved once again he is more than a capable replacement with another fine individual performance. 

Jackson became the first player to score in as many as four of his first five Champions League starts since Sebastien Haller in December 2021 (all five), while he now has five goals and two assists across just five starts in the competition. 

He now has five goals in eight appearances across all competitions for Villa, but another summer arrival in Manzambi has also made a strong start. The Switzerland international has two goals and two assists in three starts for the Villans. 

Not many will remember what they did when they turned 21, but Manzambi's special day will certainly live long in the memory. He is just the second player to score on their Champions League debut on his birthday, alongside Spartak Moscow's Romulo against Barcelona in September 2012 (22).

Barkley also scored twice in a game for the first time since January 2023 for Nice against Montpellier in Ligue 1, though he was forced off in the 83rd minute with an injury, with Leon Goretzka coming on to make his Villa debut.

The result also marked Villa's first home win in all competitions this season, and they thoroughly deserved their victory. They finished with an expected goals (xG) total of 3.07 from their 20 shots to Fenerbahce's tally of 1.9 from their 15 attempts. 

Line-ups

Aston Villa XI: Lindelof, Barkley, McGinn, P. Torres, Kamara, Matty Cash, Wan-Bissaka, Zion Suzuki, Nicolas Jackson, Johan Manzambi, Mbaye

Subs: Marco Bizot, Goretzka, Mings, Buendia, Abraham, Garnacho, João Gomes, Lamare Bogarde, James Wright, Alysson

Fenerbahçe XI: Ake, Ederson, Skriniar, İrfan Can Kahveci, Semedo, Vedat Muriqi, Guendouzi, Oğuz Aydın, Greenwood, İsmail Yüksek, Archie Brown

Subs: Mert Günok, Lukaku, Kante, Kerem Aktürkoğlu, Tarık Çetin, Levent Mercan, Bartuğ Elmaz, Dorgeles Nene, Yiğit Efe Demir, Ognjen Mimović, Kojo Oppong