UECL: Villans not 'bad' enough to scare the Warsaw legion

Legia Warsaw shocked Aston Villa on their long-awaited return to European football, taking the lead on three separate occasions to claim an impressive 3-2 victory in their Conference League group stage opener.

Ahead of kick-off, the hosts unveiled a tifo saying “Welcome to the jungle” - a statement that was soon underlined when the Stadion Wojska Polskiego erupted after Legia had stolen an early lead. Making their first European appearance since 2008/09, Villa were caught napping at the back as Paweł Wszołek guided in Patryk Kun’s low delivery virtually unchallenged. However, that shock lead didn’t last long thanks in large part to Nicolò Zaniolo. The Italian did brilliantly to turn and fire a rocket shot from distance, forcing Kacper Tobiasz to tip onto the crossbar, which allowed Jhon Durán to follow in and level with a deceptively difficult header.

Having restored parity, the visitors once again got caught off-guard. This time, a swift transition saw Wszołek turn provider as his cross from the right found Ernest Muçi, who calmly finished from close range. The Albanian attacker was proving a nuisance for the Villa backline, threatening on a couple of occasions before the Premier League side equalised for a second time. Somewhat against the run of play, Lucas Digne profited from some penalty-area pinball, sending a deflected effort sailing into the top-right corner. With halftime fast approaching, Durán could have put his side in front for the first time, only for Tobiasz to smother the opportunity, capping off a breathless first half.

Much to Unai Emery’s frustration, Legia took the lead for a third time shortly after the break. The lively Muçi manufactured a yard of space before tucking in a low effort off the inside of the far post - a goal which took the contest beyond Villa’s pre-match away average of 4.5 goals per game. Fully deserving of their lead, the Polish side came close to adding a fourth when Emiliano Martínez couldn’t hold Bartosz Slisz, almost leaving Marc Gual with a tap-in on the rebound.

UEL: Reds sure love a comeback, Boniface keeps on giving

Legioniści ultimately maintained focus to see out a confident performance and extend their unbeaten run to eight matches in all competitions (five wins, three draws), having now suffered just one loss in their last 28 competitive home encounters (22 wins, five draws). As for Emery’s Villa, his previous continental success counted for little here, with Zrinjski Mostar next up on the European stage for the Villans.

EUROPA CONFERENCE LEAGUE - GROUP STAGE

Thursday

Fenerbahce - Nordsjaelland 3-1 (2-0)

/Crespo 24, Batshuayi 30, Aziz 47 - Villadsen 55/

Ludogorets - Trnava 4-0 (0-0)

/Yordanov 46, Piotrowski 51, 63, Rwan Seco 90+4/

Genk - Fiorentina 2-2 (1-2)

/Zeqiri 12, McKenzie 85 - Ranieri 7, 23/

Eintr.Frankfurt - Aberdeen 2-1 (1-1)

/Marmoush 11, Koch 61- Polvara 22/

Helsinki - PAOK 2-3 (1-0)

/Bande 35, Radulovic 90+9 - Koulierakis 55, Despodov 81, Thomas 90+4/

Ferencvaros - Cukaricki 3-1 ()

/Varga 44 pen, Owusu 45+7, Pesic 79 - Ivanovic 26/

Legia - Aston Villa 3-2 (2-2)

/Wszolek 3, Muci 26, 51 - Duran 6, DIgne 38/

Zrinjski - AZ Alkmaar 4-3 (0-3)

/Kozulj 48, 81, Corluka 68, Hrvanovic 71 - van Brederode 10, Mijnans 32, de Wit 44/

22.00: (1.30) Plzen (5.50) Ballkani (10.0)

22.00: (1.28) Dinamo Zagreb (6.25) Astana (12.0)

22.00: (9.00) Zorya (4.80) Gent (1.42)

22.00: (1.13) Maccabi T.A. (9.00) Breidablik (17.0)

22.00: (1.60) Slovan B. (4.10) Ki Klaksvik (6.25)

22.00: (3.15) Lugano (3.50) Bodo (2.20)

22.00: (2.05) Club Brugge (3.50) Besiktas (3.60)

***odds are subject to change