Basel, Switzerland – Youri Tielemans's second-half strike secured a 2-1 victory for Aston Villa against Basel in the Europa League, maintaining their impressive march in the competition. The win, Villa's eighth in succession in all competitions, strengthens their chances of finishing in the top eight and securing an automatic spot in the round of 16.
Unai Emery made eight changes to the team that beat Premier League leaders Arsenal in their last match, but the changes did not disrupt Villa's early dominance. Their possession paid off when Evann Guessand found the net after 12 minutes, capitalizing on poor defending from Basel's Xherdan Shaqiri. Despite being on the ground, Guessand managed to turn and slot the ball into the bottom corner.
Basel responded, with Leo Leroy's goal disallowed by VAR for an earlier offside. However, Flavius Daniliuc soon equalized, flicking home a free-kick from Shaqiri, atoning for his earlier error.
In the second half, Emery introduced Tielemans as a substitute, and the Belgian midfielder made an immediate impact. Just eight minutes after coming on, Tielemans received a pass from Emi Buendía on the edge of the box and curled a classy finish into the bottom-right corner, restoring Villa's lead. According to beIN SPORTS, Tielemans completed 24 of 26 passes (92.3%) and won all of his duels in midfield.
Basel applied sustained pressure in the later stages of the match. Ibrahim Salah's header in stoppage time was deflected off Morgan Rogers, narrowly missing the target.
Tielemans expressed his satisfaction with the win, acknowledging the challenging conditions at St. Jakob-Park. He noted that the pitch conditions affected their usual fluent game, but the team was happy to secure the three points.
Aston Villa now sit third in the table, level on points with leaders Lyon. The Villans have secured at least a spot in the knockout phase play-offs. Looking ahead, Tielemans emphasized the importance of winning their remaining games against Fenerbahçe and Salzburg to improve their chances of finishing in the top two.
According to Flashscore.com, this was only Aston Villa's second win in their last seven away games in UEFA's second-tier competition.
