Unai Emery’s ‘no excuses’ culture finally pays off and how Nicolas Jackson proved he was signed for more than just goals, writes TOM COLLOMOSSE

DAILYMAIL.COM • 1h ago

By TOM COLLOMOSSE, FOOTBALL REPORTER 22:02 14 Oct 2026, updated 22:26 14 Oct 2026

No North Stand, no problem. Aston Villa delivered their most emphatic European win and their first home victory of the campaign as Mason Greenwood made an anonymous return to an English stadium.

The former Manchester United winger, who last played in England in January 2022, was barracked throughout by the home fans.

Greenwood was dropped from the United first team when he was arrested and charged with attempted rape, assault and controlling and coercive behaviour in October 2022, before charges and the case were dropped in February 2023 when key witnesses withdrew. He has denied any wrongdoing.

The 25-year-old was one of Fenerbahce’s highest-profile signings last summer but struggled in the duel with former United team-mate Aaron Wan-Bissaka.

By contrast, Villa excelled against the desperately poor Turkish giants, with Johan Manzambi and a double from Nicolas Jackson making the game safe before half-time. Ross Barkley added two more – one from the spot – in the second half and substitute Tammy Abraham made it a record win.

Daily Mail Sport looks at the main talking points from Villa’s second straight Champions League win, achieved with the Prince of Wales watching from the directors’ box.

Villa boss Unai Emery will never allow his side to blame poor results on external factors. That means he rejects the idea that Villa will suffer by playing in a three-sided ground.

The club hope to take their capacity beyond 50,000 in time for the start of next season but in the meantime, one end of the ground is a building site. Villa need a bigger ground to make more money and that means shutting one end of it for a minimum one season.

Before this clash Villa had lost to Arsenal and Nottingham Forest and drawn with Brentford here but Emery would not allow players or fans to dwell on their quieter ground.

‘Not ideal, but never an excuse,’ said Emery. ‘We must accept the sacrifice of being without the North Stand, but we also understand it is for the greater good.

‘Because next season, and for years to come, Villa Park will be a stadium with greater capacity, improved facilities and an even more extraordinary atmosphere.

‘It is like when we have an injured important player. We must accept, not cry, and everyone has to deliver their best to overcome this situation.’

As weak as Fener were, Villa were sharper than they have been all season here. Johan Manzambi is growing with every match and deserved his goal, which took a huge deflection off Milan Skriniar. Wan-Bissaka looked comfortable and Boubacar Kamara looked much more like himself.

Nobody said it would be easy playing in front of fewer fans and there were less than 35,000 at this one. Just don’t let Emery hear you moaning about it.

We have questioned many of Villa’s transfers in these pages so it is only fair we applaud them when they get one right.

Many online were quick to mock Emery when he paid £65million for a player who had struggled towards the end of his career at Chelsea, when he seemed to collect more yellow cards than goals.

But Emery had worked with Jackson at Villarreal and knew exactly what he could offer. The Senegal forward now has five goals in all competitions – bear in mind Ollie Watkins, the man he replaced, did not reach that tally last season until December 27.

Jackson is about more than the goals. His pace stretches defences but his link play is solid too, meaning he is developing a nice understanding with Manzambi.

His goals were similar – clean right-footed efforts from just outside the box that found the bottom corner, though former Manchester City pair Ederson and Nathan Ake should have done much better with Jackson’s second.

Jackson was probably aggrieved to be denied the chance of a hat-trick when Barkley took the ball for the penalty but he could be very happy with his night’s work.

If Ederson and Ake had played like this when they were at City, they would not have won so many trophies.

The Brazil goalkeeper was so sluggish in trying to save Jackson’s strike and Ake was even worse. He made little attempt to block Jackson’s shot and like the rest of his team, looked barely interested for most of the game.

Fener have signed too many players whose best days are behind them. Happily for Villa fans, their team have gone the opposite way. In Manzambi, Ibrahim Mbaye and Jackson, Villa have serious pace, skill and unpredictability in attack and they can trouble many teams in this European campaign.

Aston Villa (4-2-3-1): Suzuki 7; Cash 6, Lindelof 7, Torres 8, Wan-Bissaka 7; Kamara 7 (Alysson 73), Barkley 8 (Goretzka 83); Mbaye 7 (Garnacho 78), McGinn 7, Manzambi 8 (Gomes 73); *JACKSON 9* (Abraham 78)

Scorers: Manzambi 12, Jackson 31, 39, Barkley 68 (pen), 72

Fenerbahce (4-2-3-1): Ederson 5; Semedo 5, Skriniar 4, Ake 4, Brown 6; Guendouzi 5, Yuksek 5 (Elmaz 69, 6); Greenwood 5 (Lukaku 69, 6), Kahveci 5, Aydin 7; Muriqi 6 (Nene 69, 6).

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