Aston Villa continued their impressive start to the UEFA Champions League campaign with a 3-1 victory over Norwegian side Viking FK at Villa Park on Wednesday.
Unai Emery’s men secured their third consecutive win in the competition, strengthening their position among the leading teams in the standings after three matches.
The victory also marked Villa’s fifth win in six matches across all competitions, underlining their resurgence following a challenging start to the season.
Villa took control of the encounter through Ross Barkley, who opened the scoring in the 23rd minute with a header to register his third goal in the Champions League this season.
Emiliano Buendia doubled the hosts’ advantage in the 37th minute, converting a penalty to put Villa in a comfortable position before half-time.
The English side extended their lead after the break when Viking defender Henrik Heggheim scored an own goal in the 62nd minute, leaving the visitors with a difficult task.
Viking, however, refused to give up and found a consolation goal through Peter Christiansen in the 84th minute, rewarding their improved performance in the second half.
The Norwegian outfit had entered the encounter with confidence after securing a remarkable 3-3 draw against German champions Bayern Munich the previous week.
However, they were unable to reproduce that performance against Villa, who followed up their emphatic 6-0 victory over Fenerbahce with another convincing result.
Villa had temporarily occupied the top position in the Champions League standings before Christiansen’s late strike denied them a third consecutive clean sheet.
Despite conceding late, Emery’s side held on to claim all three points and maintain their perfect record in the competition.
The result further strengthens Villa’s position in the league phase as they continue their pursuit of a successful European campaign.
