Champions League opens: Aston Villa win 3-2 in Bruges, AEK beat LASK 1-0
Aston Villa won 3-2 in Bruges after goals from McGinn, Buendia and Jackson; AEK started with a 1-0 home win thanks to Marin.
The 2026–27 Champions League group stage opened with an entertaining first night as Aston Villa edged Club Brugge 3-2 and AEK Athens claimed a 1-0 victory over LASK.
At Jan Breydel Stadium, Aston Villa struck first in the 11th minute through John McGinn, but Club Brugge levelled when Hugo Vetlesen scored in the 19th minute to make it 1-1.
Three minutes later Emi Buendia restored Villa's lead, and Nicolas Jackson extended the advantage to 3-1 in the 43rd minute following a costly mistake by goalkeeper Yann Sommer.
Brugge fought back after the break: Nikolo Tresoldi converted a penalty after a VAR intervention to make it 3-2, and later hit the post, but the hosts could not find an equaliser.
On the other pitch, AEK Athens began its European campaign with a narrow 1-0 win over LASK. The decisive goal came from Răzvan Marin on 21 minutes, a free-kick that proved enough to secure three points.
Both matches produced six goals across the opening fixtures and offered a lively start to the club competition.
Photo: press material from the event
