Europa Conference League: AZ Alkmaar 1 Aston Villa 4 - Report

The scene might have been Alkmaar rather than Rotterdam and the European Conference League rather than the European Cup, yet after a stuttering start in the former competition, this was the night Unai Emery’s team finally showed why they are many people’s favourites to lift the trophy in Athens next May.

AZ are also among that group and had lost only once in 29 previous European home fixtures.

But they were no match for Villa, who ruthlessly took control of Group E on their first competitive fixture back in Holland since 1982, despite Emery making four midweek changes to his team.

Unlike in the 3-2 defeat at Legia Warsaw last month, this time the tinkering paid dividends. Two players drafted into the XI, Leon Bailey and Youri Tielemans, both scored in the opening 23 minutes to put the visitors in command.

The latter’s goal was his first for the club to cap his best performance since his summer arrival. Bailey, meanwhile, also had a hand in the goals from Ollie Watkins and John McGinn which put the result beyond doubt early in the second half.

Villa entered the game on the back of Sunday’s 4-1 win over West Ham but AZ were a team in stunning form too, having dropped just two points in their first nine league matches. Neither had anyone in Europe’s top five leagues kept more clean sheets than their goalkeeper Mat Ryan but it took Villa fewer than 13 minutes to break the deadlock.

It came after 30 seconds which perhaps summed Bailey’s enigmatic style better than any other. Presented with a glorious chance after being sent through on goal by Boubacar Kamara’s lofted pass, the Jamaica international first trod on the ball when entering the box and then backheeled it 10 yards from his nearest team-mate and out of play.

Yet when Villa quickly won back possession and a clearance ricocheted into his path, he brought it down before firing a low drive from outside the box beyond Ryan with his weaker right foot. AZ coach Pascal Jansen and his players were convinced Bailey had used his hand to control the ball but a VAR check confirmed it had hit his chest.

It was the visitors’ first serious attack of the game and 10 minutes later the lead was doubled with their second.

Tielemans, the scorer, also played a big role in making it, closing down Sven Mijnans and forcing an error as the Alkmaar midfielder passed straight to McGinn. From there Tielemans sprinted forward to collect McGinn’s return cross and though his first touch looked a little uncertain, the finish under the body of Ryan was not.

Having established a two-goal advantage, Villa nearly allowed Alkmaar to reduce it when Kamara, after an excellent start, lost possession on the edge of his own box. But Vangelis Pavlidis, scorer of 13 goals in his previous eight matches, fired over with just Emi Martinez to beat. When Pavlidis then did find the net shortly afterward, it was from an offside position.

Jansen made two changes at the break and his team began the second half well but two goals in five matches killed the tie. Bailey had a hand in both, first with a shot which Ryan could only push into the path of Watkins, the second with a cross converted by McGinn.

Alkmaar kept pushing as Villa visibly relaxed and were rewarded when Ibrahim Sadiq fired impressively into the bottom corner. Tiago Dantos also saw a shot deflected just wide but there was to be no comeback.

Alkmaar (4-3-3): Ryan, Sugawara, Bazoer, Penetra (Martins Indi HT), Moller Wolfe, Clasie, De Wit (Mihailovic 86), Mijnans (Dantas HT), Sadiq (Odgaard 67), Pavlidis, Van Brederode (Van Bommel 67) Subs not used: Poku, Goudmijn, Kasius, Goes, Verhulst (gk), Owusu-Oduro (gk).

Villa (4-4-2): Martinez, Cash, Carlos, Lenglet, Digne, McGinn (Diaby 81), Luiz (Zaniolo 69), Kamara (Dendoncker 86), Tielemans, Bailey (Traore 86), Watkins (Duran 86) Subs not used: Konsa, Torres, Chambers, Olsen (gk), Marschall (gk).