Game is over and the final score is Aston Villa 2-1 BSC Young Boys. Malen nets brace helps Villa win at home.
2025/2026 UEFA Europa League
2-1
Match Report
Aston Villa produced a polished performance to see off BSC Young Boys in the UEFA Europa League and earn a fourth consecutive victory in all competitions.
Youri Tielemans, wearing the captain’s armband in place of John McGinn, saw his cross headed home by Donyell Malen to break the deadlock after 27 minutes.
The deadly Dutchman doubled his tally with a crisp finish shortly before half-time, having been played through by Morgan Rogers, for his sixth goal of the season.
Chris Bedia saw a goal disallowed for offside with 20 minutes to play in a rare moment of worry for the hosts, but they endured a nervy finish when Joel Monteiro lashed home in the 90th minute.
Success in B6 ensured Villa will be level on points at the top of the standings heading into Matchday Six against Basel in December.
Fourteen months on from a Champions League tilt against the Swiss side in Bern, Villa welcomed Young Boys to B6 looking to build on three wins from their opening four matches in the competition.
And a starting XI showing seven changes from Sunday made a bright start, calling Marvin Keller into action early on when Malen’s drive required a full-length dive to tip it over the crossbar.
Midway through the first half, the returning Amadou Onana threatened to break the deadlock, but his header back across goal drifted wide of the far post after he was picked out by Rogers.
However, it didn’t take much longer for Villa to forge ahead of the team in yellow, netting the opener when Malen guided Tielemans’ cross into the bottom corner with enough power to evade Keller’s outstretched hand.
The home side were firmly in control of the contest, and they scored the second goal their domination merited when scything through the visitors’ backline.
Rogers was afforded time and space in midfield to slot a ball through for Malen, who raced down on goal before unerringly sending a shot beyond the goalkeeper.
Villa sensed an early goal in the second half would kill the game off, and Jadon Sancho saw a low shot parried away by Keller as they continued to be on the front foot.
Malen wheeled away to celebrate his hat-trick when he had the ball in the net again in the 53rd minute, but his delight was quickly cut short by an offside flag for Rogers in the buildup.
A quadruple change from the hosts on the hour mark offered no respite for Young Boys as Ollie Watkins, Emi Buendía, Ross Barkley and Ezri Konsa entered the fray, and the substitutions saw Villa maintain their intensity, pinning their opponents inside their own half for long spells.
Despite their domination, Villa were thankful to VAR for ruling out a sucker punch for offside on 70 minutes after substitute Bedia turned home with his first touch following a ball across the face of goal from Alan Virginius.
Sancho was next to go close, pulling a shot inches wide of the far post as he sought a first goal in claret and blue.
But with the final whistle in sight, Young Boys gained a lifeline when Monteiro sprung the offside trap and chested the ball down before lashing a shot past Martínez.
The strike made for an anxious period of stoppage time, but three points were secured to keep Villa in touch at the top of the league phase table.
Match Events
0' The match is about to start!
5' Match Event for Aston Villa vs BSC Young Boys
25' Highlight from Aston Villa vs BSC Young Boys
29' GOAL! Aston Villa 1-0 BSC Young Boys
43' GOAL! Aston Villa 2-0 BSC Young Boys
45' Highlight from Aston Villa vs BSC Young Boys
54' Match Event for Aston Villa vs BSC Young Boys
73' Highlight from Aston Villa vs BSC Young Boys
92' GOAL! Aston Villa 2-1 BSC Young Boys
Line-ups
Aston Villa XI: E. Martinez, Lindelof, Tielemans, P. Torres, Sancho, Malen, Morgan Rogers, Evann Guessand, Amadou Onana, Maatsen, Lamare Bogarde
Subs: Marco Bizot, Digne, Barkley, McGinn, Ollie Watkins, Buendia, Kamara, Ngoyo, Matty Cash, Elliott, Andrés García, Rhys Oakley
BSC Young Boys XI: Loris Benito, Saidy Janko, Córdova, Rayan Raveloson, Christian Fassnacht, Sandro Lauper, Darian Males, Marvin Keller, Jaouen Hadjam, Tanguy Zoukrou, Dominik Pech
Subs: Heinz Lindner, Gregory Wüthrich, Chris Bedia, Dario Marzino, Alan Virginius, Joël Monteiro, Alvyn Sanches, Ryan Andrews, Janis Lüthi, Rhodri Smith, Elio Rufener, Felix Emmanuel Tsimba