Aston Villa Beat Viking to Maintain Perfect Champions League Start

Sign InSportsAston Villa Beat Viking to Maintain Perfect Champions League StartBy Boniface Mulyungi · October 22, 2026 · 2 min readSponsored AdAston Villa continued their impressive UEFA Champions League campaign with a 3-1 victory over Norwegian side Viking at Villa Park on Wednesday night, extending their remarkable winning run in European home matches.

Unai Emery’s side made it three wins from three in the competition, following their emphatic 6-0 demolition of Fenerbahce in the previous round, to strengthen their position in the league phase.

Villa dominated proceedings from the opening whistle, putting Viking under sustained pressure and creating several dangerous opportunities before breaking the deadlock in the 23rd minute.

Ross Barkley opened the scoring after turning in Ibrahim Mbaye’s corner at the near post, rewarding Villa’s early dominance and giving the home supporters reason to celebrate.

The hosts continued to control the game and doubled their advantage shortly before half-time. Alysson was brought down by Zlatko Tripic inside the penalty area, prompting a VAR review before the referee awarded a spot-kick.

Emiliano Buendia stepped up and calmly converted the penalty in the 37th minute to give Villa a comfortable 2-0 lead at the break.

Viking returned for the second half with greater attacking intent, hoping to find a way back into the contest. However, Villa remained dangerous going forward and struck again in the 62nd minute.

Alysson delivered an inviting cross into the penalty area, and Viking defender Henrik Heggheim inadvertently turned the ball into his own net, handing Villa a commanding three-goal advantage.

The third goal effectively settled the contest, allowing Emery’s men to manage the remainder of the match while continuing to threaten on the counterattack.

Alejandro Garnacho, who has struggled to make a significant impact since joining Villa on loan from Chelsea, came off the bench and produced an energetic performance. The winger came close to getting on the scoresheet, but his effort was saved by Viking goalkeeper Arild Østbø.

Viking eventually found a consolation goal in the 86th minute through Peter Christiansen, whose acrobatic finish was initially ruled out for offside. However, a VAR review overturned the decision, allowing the goal to stand.

The late strike did little to change the outcome as Villa comfortably saw out the remaining minutes to secure another three points.

The victory further underlined Emery’s reputation as a manager capable of delivering strong performances in European competition. Villa have now won 12 consecutive home matches in European football, extending an impressive run at Villa Park.

With three victories from their opening three Champions League matches, Villa have made an emphatic start to their European campaign and will look to maintain their momentum as the competition progresses.

BMBoniface MulyungiReporter, Uzalendo News.