Malen’s brace fires villa past young boys as a late strike sparks a tense finale in B6

Aston Villa secured a composed yet hard-fought 2–1 victory over BSC Young Boys on Thursday night, extending their winning run to four matches in all competitions and keeping their Europa League campaign firmly on track. It was a performance defined by authority, control and, in the final minutes, a jolt of tension that Villa ultimately managed to withstand.

Youri Tielemans captained the side in place of John McGinn and delivered a telling contribution midway through the first half. With Villa pushing for the opener and probing patiently, Tielemans swung a precise cross into the box. Donyell Malen met it with a well-timed header, steering the ball into the bottom corner with enough force to slip past goalkeeper Marvin Keller. It was a reward for Villa’s early dominance and a sign of things to come.

Before that breakthrough, Villa had already signalled their intent. Malen forced Keller into an acrobatic save earlier on, driving a powerful effort that required the goalkeeper to tip the ball over the bar. The home side, making seven changes from the weekend, looked sharp and energised from the outset, controlling possession and dictating the tempo.

Amadou Onana, back in the starting XI, nearly put Villa ahead earlier in the half with a header that drifted agonisingly wide after Morgan Rogers picked him out. It was a warning that Villa were growing more threatening with every passing minute, and Young Boys struggled to cope with the movement and pace of the home attack.

Once Malen opened the scoring, Villa’s grip on the match tightened. The team in yellow had little joy breaking out of their half, and their frustration deepened shortly before the interval when Villa sliced through them again. Rogers, given too much time in midfield, threaded a clinical through-ball into Malen’s path. The Dutch forward accelerated away and finished with composure, slotting past Keller to claim his second goal of the night and his sixth of the season.

At 2–0, Villa looked in complete control. Their passing was fluid, their pressing sharp, and their confidence visibly rising. Young Boys, by contrast, struggled for rhythm and rarely threatened Emiliano Martínez’s goal. The visitors’ sole moments of promise were limited, and even those were fleeting.

Villa sensed an opportunity to put the match to bed early in the second half. Jadon Sancho, lively throughout, forced Keller into another save with a low drive that the goalkeeper parried away. Had that gone in, the evening might have concluded more comfortably for the hosts.

As the match wore on, Young Boys had a rare spell of encouragement when Chris Bedia found the net, only for his effort to be ruled out for offside. It was a brief flicker of danger, quickly extinguished but enough to remind Villa that the contest was not entirely finished.

That point was hammered home in the final minute of normal time when Joel Monteiro powered a strike into the roof of the net, sparking a spell of late anxiety around Villa Park. The visitors poured forward in a last attempt to snatch an unlikely equaliser, but Villa held firm through stoppage time to secure the win.

The result means Villa move level on points at the top of their Europa League group heading into December’s decisive Matchday Six encounter with Basel. It was not perfect, but it was polished, purposeful and ultimately successful another step forward for a side building momentum as the season intensifies.