Aston Villa continued their resurgence in Europe with a 2-0 victory over Feyenoord in Rotterdam, thanks to second-half strikes from Emiliano Buendía and captain John McGinn.
Unai Emery’s men, who edged Bologna 1-0 in their opening Europa League outing, showed resilience at De Kuip, a ground steeped in Villa history after their 1982 European Cup triumph over Bayern Munich.
Despite a rocky start, they absorbed relentless first-half pressure before landing decisive blows after the break to seal back-to-back continental wins.
Villa’s plans were disrupted before kick-off when first-choice goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez was ruled out with a calf injury.
Summer signing Marco Bizot stepped in against his former club and immediately proved vital, producing a string of key saves in the opening half.
He denied Anis Hadj Moussa at his near post, while Ollie Watkins nearly broke through at the other end, only to be fouled by Anel Ahmedhodzic in a challenge that might easily have brought a red card.
Feyenoord, buoyed by last season’s scalps of Bayern Munich and Inter Milan on this very ground, looked the more dangerous side early on.
Ayase Ueda twice threatened, once with a header wide and again with a strike Bizot had to claw away, before Leo Sauer’s long-range attempt forced the stand-in keeper into action.
The hosts thought they had taken the lead in the 35th minute when Ueda headed in from a corner, but the effort was controversially chalked off for a foul on Matty Cash, a decision that left head coach Robin van Persie incensed.
The Dutch champions kept pressing, and Bizot had to produce his best to tip away Luciano Valente’s curling effort before the interval. Ezri Konsa then came to Villa’s rescue early in the second half with a fine block to stop Sem Steijn inside the box.
Moments later, the visitors carved out a chance of their own as Evann Guessand hit the post from Ian Maatsen’s clever cut-back.
With the storm seemingly passed, Villa struck on the hour mark. Boubacar Kamara picked out Buendía at the edge of the area, and the Argentine playmaker calmly curled a low effort into the corner to silence the De Kuip crowd.
From there, Emery’s side took control, and McGinn added the killer second 15 minutes later, steering home his third goal in as many games after substitute Donyell Malen’s surging run unsettled the Feyenoord defence.
Bizot capped his impressive debut by thwarting Ueda and substitute Cyle Larin late on, ensuring Villa’s clean sheet remained intact.
The victory, their third in the space of a week, not only lifts spirits but also signals that Emery’s side are beginning to shake off their shaky start to the season.
