Aston Villa bounced back from their loss to Liverpool last weekend, as they eased past Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Europa League. The omission of away supporters, following the advice of Birmingham's Safety Advisory Group, created a strange atmosphere around Villa Park. Despite the political tensions surrounding the game, Unai Emery and his side went about their business as usual, with the focus on returning to winning ways.
Aston Villa Performance
There was nothing spectacular about Villa's performance last night, although they got the job done. A lack of intensity was consistent throughout the game, with Morgan Rogers a bright spark. As expected, Villa dominated possession, but for the first 20 minutes no real chances were created.
Villa's main goal threat came from their left-hand side, with Sancho, Rogers and Maatsen combining well. The first proper goal scoring opportunity came from Rogers in the 34th minute. He drove towards goal, weaving in and out of defenders, before the ball got stuck under his feet, preventing him from lifting it over the goalkeeper. It was then recycled by Maatsen, who returned it to Rogers on the edge of the box, but this time his effort went over the bar.
Pressure was beginning to mount on Maccabi Tel Aviv, as another chance quickly followed. Sancho's cross into the box was cleared only as far as Maatsen, who drilled the ball back into the mix, but it rebounded off a defender into the path of Malen. His first-time shot was well saved by Mishpati.
Maatsen finally broke the deadlock just before halftime, again from the link up play of Sancho and Rogers. The Dutchman's run into the box was met by a super ball from Rogers, with Maatsen firing it in from a tight angle.
Ian Maatsen, take a bow 🤩👏
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) November 6, 2025
Lovely build up play from Aston Villa, and Morgan Rogers plays Maatsen through and he somehow smashes home from the tightest of angles, to give the Villains the lead!
📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/sRQvoPocZh
Chances from both ends came early in the second half, as the game suddenly sprung into life. In the 56th minute, Villa were awarded a penalty, after Konsa was tripped by Madmon. It was soft, but the referee and VAR deemed there was enough contact. Malen stepped up to take it and tucked it away into the bottom corner, putting an end to Villa's penalty woes.
Malen on target to double Villa's lead 🎯
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) November 6, 2025
Perfectly taken penalty from Donyell Malen to give Villa a 2-0 lead, after Konsa was brought down in the area.
📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/bisGT1JaiO
Youri Tielemans came on with fifteen minutes to go, returning from a calf injury. He made an instant impact by playing a delightful ball over the top for Malen to run onto. His powerful shot was tipped wide by Mishpati, before the game then petered out to a close. McGinn was substituted on to make his 300th appearance for Villa.
Emery will be pleased that Villa secured the three points, but may be disappointed in the overall performance.
🗣️ "We are really performing well, we are achieving good results and today was very important."
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) November 6, 2025
Hear from The Boss following tonight's victory 👊 pic.twitter.com/OB1enGISAb
Maccabi Tel Aviv Performance
The Israeli side came to Villa Park with a clear game plan of disrupting any Villa momentum, by making it a stop-start contest. For the majority of the first half, it was working and they probably had the best chance of the game. In the 38th minute, Revivo raced into the box and squared it to Peretz for a tap-in, but Martínez made a fantastic save to keep it all square.
Early in the second half, they had another great chance by Peretz. Varela blitzed past Lindelöf to pull it back for the Tel Aviv captain, who had his shot saved by Martínez again.
Once Villa got their second of the night, the visitors never looked like getting back into the game. They will be disappointed that they didn't take their chances, as Villa were nowhere near their best.
Looking Ahead
The Villans host Bournemouth in their next fixture, with just three points separating the two sides. Both teams are going into the game off of a loss last weekend in the Premier League, but Villa's win last night will give them a boost.
