Aston Villa extended their outstanding run of form with a 2–1 home victory over BSC Young Boys in the UEFA Europa League (UEL) league phase, making it 10 wins from their last 12 matches in all competitions.

Young Boys arrived in England with history against them, having failed to win any of their previous six away trips to the country (D2, L4). Villa, meanwhile, had won all five of their European home fixtures in 2025 — and they quickly showed why.

The hosts started at full throttle. Inside four minutes, Donyell Malen latched onto a loose ball outside the area and unleashed a thunderous strike, only for Marvin Keller to tip it over the bar. Moments later, Jadon Sancho forced the Swiss keeper into another smart save after turning sharply from a short corner and aiming for the near post.

Although Young Boys slowly found their footing, Villa’s pressure eventually told. In the 27th minute, a slick passing move ended with Youri Tielemans lofting a delicate ball into the box, where Malen darted in to nod home at the near post.

Villa seized full control soon after. Morgan Rogers burst through midfield and slipped a pass into Malen, who drove into the area and hammered a clinical finish beyond Keller to double his tally and the hosts’ lead.

Leading at home for the fifth consecutive match, Villa resumed the second half in total command. Sancho forced yet another save, and Malen appeared to complete his hat-trick eight minutes after the restart — only for his tap-in from Rogers’ squared pass to be chalked off for offside.

Unai Emery opted to protect his stars ahead of the weekend clash with Wolverhampton Wanderers, making four substitutions on the hour mark and ending Malen’s chance of a treble.

Villa remained dominant, with Young Boys managing just one off-target effort in the opening 69 minutes. Still, the hosts failed to kill the game, and nearly paid for it when substitutes Alan Virginius and Chris Bedia combined to put the ball in the net — a goal later ruled out by VAR for a marginal offside.

That warning shot refocused Villa, but Young Boys did pull one back in the 90th minute, as Joël Monteiro slammed a low effort past Emiliano Martínez to set up a tense finale.

Despite the late scare, Villa held firm through stoppage time, securing all three points and climbing to second place in the group, level with Midtjylland.