Aston Villa secured their place in the Europa League knockout rounds with a 2-1 victory over Basel at St. Jakob Park. Goals from Evann Guessand and Youri Tielemans earned the win, despite a second-half equalizer from Flavius Daniliuc. The result marks Villa's eighth consecutive victory across all competitions.
Aston Villa traveled to St. Jakob Park in high spirits following their recent Premier League success against Arsenal. The match began with Basel threatening early, but Villa struck first in the 12th minute. Evann Guessand opened the scoring with a clever turn and shot that squirmed into the bottom-right corner after a corner kick was not cleared properly.
Basel thought they had leveled when Leo Leroy fired into the net, but VAR disallowed the goal for offside. Undeterred, the hosts equalized in the 34th minute through Flavius Daniliuc. Xherdan Shaqiri delivered a superb left-wing free-kick, and with goalkeeper Marco Bizot hesitating, Daniliuc volleyed home the cross.
Villa showed resilience after the break. In the 53rd minute, Youri Tielemans restored the lead with a powerful side-foot finish from the edge of the area, set up by Emi Buendia. Goalkeeper Marwin Hitz was the busier shot-stopper in the second half as Villa controlled the game, taking the sting out of proceedings.
The victory moves Aston Villa to 15 points from six games, joint-top of the Europa League table alongside Lyon and Midtjylland. They are eight points clear of 25th place, ensuring at least a playoff spot, with a top-eight finish now likely for direct qualification. Basel, despite the loss, remain in contention for the playoff round.
Unai Emery's side has now won eight straight matches in all competitions, boosting their confidence ahead of upcoming fixtures.
