Aston Villa made it three wins from three in the Champions League league phase with a 3-1 victory over Viking at Villa Park on Wednesday night.
Two goals in the first half gave Villa control. An own goal from Henrik Heggheim then made it 3-0, and Peter Christiansen's late strike was no more than a consolation for the visitors.
The decisive moments
- 23': Ross Barkley scored, with Ibrahim Mbaye credited with the assist. 1-0 Villa.
- 37': Emiliano Buendía scored from the penalty spot. 2-0.
- 62': Heggheim put the ball into his own net. 3-0.
- 84': Christiansen scored for Viking, assisted by Kristoffer Askildsen. 3-1.
Villa led by two goals at the break and were never seriously threatened after that.
What the numbers say
The statistics support the scoreline. Villa had 21 shots to Viking's nine, and 10 of them were on target against three from the visitors. Villa also had seven shots off target and four blocked.
Villa had 55% of possession to Viking's 45% and won eight corners to six. Viking committed 14 fouls to Villa's seven. Viking were caught offside three times, Villa twice.
Viking's goals came late in the game, and the shot count shows how few chances they had before then. Six of their nine attempts were blocked.
The win also fits Villa's season so far. They average four goals a game and concede one, and the clean sheet they have is the 6-0 win over Fenerbahçe. Before this match they had also won 3-2 at Club Brugge. Viking now average 1.67 goals a game and concede three.
What it means in the table
Villa have nine points and a goal difference of plus nine, the same as leaders PSG. That puts Villa second in the league-phase table, with the top eight going straight through to the last 16.
Viking are 33rd. They have one point from three games, no wins and a goal difference of minus four. Before this game they had lost 3-1 at Stuttgart and drawn 3-3 with Bayern. Only Slovan Bratislava, 36th with no points, are below them in the bottom four. Ninth to 24th place go into the knockout play-offs.
MFF's match model had predicted a 2-1 Villa win, with a 77% chance of a home victory. It was right about the winner but one goal short on the scoreline.
There was no previous meeting between the clubs in our records, so this was the first head-to-head.
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