Donyell Malen becoming a key player for Aston Villa
Aston Villa 2 - 1 Young Boys
Donyell Malen struck twice as Aston Villa moved a step closer to securing automatic qualification for the Europa League knockout stage with a straightforward victory over Young Boys.
Author | Jay Dean
Stadium | Villa Park
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| Villa try to score |
Both goals arrived in a first half overshadowed by disorder in the away section. Malen was struck by a plastic cup while celebrating his opener midway through the half, and further disruption followed when he added a second just before the interval. Play was paused for several minutes as seats were torn out in the visitors’ end and more objects were thrown towards the pitch.
The contest settled after the break and Villa eased to a seventh consecutive home win, continuing a revival that has gathered pace after a difficult start to the campaign in which they failed to win any of their opening six matches.
Malen has been central to the turnaround. He climbed to head in Youri Tielemans’ precise cross for the first goal, then finished neatly after being picked out by Morgan Rogers three minutes before the interval. He appeared to have completed his hat-trick when he turned in another Rogers delivery in the second half, only for the effort to be ruled out as the midfielder had strayed offside in the build-up.
His double takes him to 12 goals in 19 Europa League appearances, adding to his previous tallies with PSV and Borussia Dortmund.
Villa wasted chances to extend their advantage
However, it appeared they were eventually content to conserve energy as the match wore on. That caution briefly looked costly when Chris Bedia swept home Young Boys’ first effort on target, though the goal was overturned after a lengthy VAR review for offside.
The visitors did find a late consolation when Gregory Wuthrich clipped an incisive pass over the defence and Joel Monteiro controlled and volleyed past Emi Martinez in the final minute. Villa closed out the remaining moments to move up to second in the league phase, while Young Boys sit 24th with six points from five matches.
Villa have moved on from their struggles earlier this season
After a difficult opening to the season, Aston Villa now find themselves buoyant in Europe and the Premier League, with last weekend’s win over Leeds lifting them to fourth. Ten victories in their past twelve matches underline a marked shift in momentum, aided in no small part by Donyell Malen’s sharp upturn in form.
Since the beginning of November, the 26-year-old has scored five times in six games for club and country, and Young Boys had no answer to his movement or finishing on Thursday night. His understanding with Morgan Rogers stood out, the pair combining fluently throughout the first half. Malen might easily have completed a hat-trick, but Unai Emery opted to replace him midway through the second half with Villa firmly in control.
His emergence has eased some of the scrutiny on Ollie Watkins, whose difficult campaign continued. Introduced for the final half-hour, Watkins was unable to add to his solitary goal this season, though he did draw a solid save with one effort.
Villa were noticeably less incisive in attack after Malen and Rogers departed, and the closing stages were more tense than they might have been, yet the broader picture remains unmistakably positive for Emery’s side.
