Credit: Imago
Thu 22 January 2026 19:43, UK
Aston Villa guaranteed their place in the last 16 of the Europa League with an impressive 1-0 win away at Fenerbahce on Thursday.
Jadon Sancho put Unai Emery’s side ahead in Turkey, nodding past Ederson to score his first goal for Villa since his summer move to the Midlands outfit.
Sancho thought he had forced a second for the visitors, after his cross was turned into the net by Ismail Yuksek, but VAR ruled it out for offside.
Fenerbahce then had a goal of their own chalked off, former Villa man Jhon Duran ironically in an offside position in the build-up.
Emery’s side faced a barrage in the closing stages, but managed to hang on and secure all three points.
Tyrone Mings superb on return to Aston Villa side
Tyrone Mings was given his first start since returning from injury by Emery, and the centre-back proved his worth with a superb defensive display.
Up against former Villa man Duran, the Englishman coped brilliantly, marking the Colombian out of the game and limiting him to half-chances.
Mings won three out of his four aerial duels, as well as making five clearances as Emery’s side protected their clean sheet.
StatsMings vs FenerbahceAerial Duels (Won)4 (3)Clearances5Key Passes1Shots2Tyrone Mings vs Fenerbahce
He also had an impact going forward, recording one key pass and firing in two shots.
Ollie Watkins struggles in front of goal
Aston Villa sold Donyell Malen to Roma earlier in the transfer window, leaving Ollie Watkins to shoulder the goalscoring load.
However, the England international was wasteful against Fenerbahce, spurning a number of big opportunities to find the back of the net.
Neither of Watkins’ two shots were on target, and the 30-year-old also failed to pull the trigger several times despite being in a prime position to score.
Two chances for Watkins – his first effort is blocked before a header is cleared off the line 😩
🟡 0-0 ⚪️ || 21’ #UEL
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) January 22, 2026
View Tweet
Emery didn’t have Malen to call upon off the bench, and will be hoping that Villa bring in another centre-forward before the window slams shut.
Aston Villa player ratings
Marco Bizot – 8
Matty Cash (Off for Maatsen 74′) – 6
Victor Lindelof – 6
Tyrone Mings – 8
Lucas Digne – 6
Lamare Bogarde – 6
Youri Tielemans (Off for Hemmings 92′) – 6
Jadon Sancho (Off for Garcia 74′) – 7
Morgan Rogers (Off for Guessand 74′) – 6
Emi Buendia (Off for Onana 74′) – 5
Ollie Watkins – 4
Substitutes:
Evann Guessand (On for Rogers 74′) – 5
Amadou Onana (On for Buendia 74′) – 6
Andres Garcia (On for Sancho 74′) – 6
Ian Maatsen (On for Cash 74′) – 6
George Hemmings (On for Tielemans 92′) – N/A
Stay ahead of the action — subscribe to Villa News on Substack for more exclusive insights and match-day analysis.