Written by 
Key events
Half time: Club Brugge 0-0 Aston Villa
Goalless but a very engaging game, with the hosts coming closest to scoring when Ferran Jutgla hit the post and repeatedly putting Villa under pressure. The visitors have had chances on the break, Watkins firing wide and McGinn heading over, but will be glad to emerge from that half still on level terms. More soon.
47 mins: Tielemans floats in a long ball which almost finds Mings, before Brugge deal with Maatsen’s attempted cross on the rebound.
46 mins: A late Villa free-kick, as Watkins is brought down by Mechele on the edge of the centre-circle. This would, quite frankly, be an ideal time for the visitors to score.
45 mins: Nielsen overlaps with Skov Olsen on the right and crosses in dangerously, but it’s headed clear. Two added minutes.
44 mins: The plan for Villa seems to be to keep possession and see things out until half-time. Nobody told Diego Carlos, whose attempted long pass from 40 yards out flies into the stands.
41 mins: Villa are just trying to get a foothold again, slowing things down with a passing move after that barrage of Brugge chances.
39 mins: From a corner, Skov Olsen sets up Tzolis, whose shot is charged down by Maatsen. The Danish winger then wriggles free of Maatsen down the left, but his cross is claimed by Martinez.
37 mins: A great tempo to this game, with Villa pouring forward now, and McGinn testing Mignolet with a shot from just outside the area. On that Nielsen chance – Mings was in the right place to clear away, but only because he had charged away from Nielsen as the cross came in. Not sure why he did that, but it worked out.
35 mins: More chances for Club Brugge! First, the impressive De Cuyper gets free down the left, and crosses to Nielsen, whose awkward back-header beats Martínez but is cleared off the line by Mings. Again, the hosts are first to the follow-up, with Jashari pounding in a shot from distance that Martínez gets enough of his body behind.
33 mins: McGinn crosses towards Watkins at the far post, and he gets above two defenders to head back across goal. Nobody’s there to meet it, and Brugge threaten to break away – but McGinn gets back to tidy up Kamara’s wild attempted clearance.
31 mins: At the other end, Tielemans threads a pass through to Rogers, who takes a touch and curls his shot over the bar, just rippling the roof of the net as it dips too late.
29 mins: Club Brugge hit the post! They win the ball back and this time, Tzolis’ slide-rule ball finds Jutgla, who fires past Martinez … but hits the near post. Moments later, Tzolis draws a fine save from Martinez, low to his left. The hosts with the upper hand at the minute …
28 mins: The hosts look the more cohesive side going forward, although Villa are making chances on the counter. Here, Tzolis’ attempted through ball is intercepted …
25 mins: A worrying development for Unai Emery, as Tyrone Mings – making his Champions League debut tonight – is booked for a foul on Jutgla. Diego Carlos protests the booking, and gets one himself, so both Villa centre-backs are now on yellow cards.
24 mins: An agreeable end-to-end flow to the game now, as Tielemans frees Kamara, who crosses towards McGinn, bursting past the back four. He’s unmarked, but can’t climb high enough to steer his header on target.
23 mins: At the other end, Ordonez hits a half-decent effort from 25 yards that is caught by Martínez.
22 mins: Close from Watkins! The Villa striker is again outnumbered by defenders, but he opens up a shooting angle with a sidestep and sends his shot just wide of the far post, with Mignolet rooted to the spot.
19 mins: Jutgla, who is playing as the central striker, almost gets his boot on to a dangerous deep cross from Ordonez, having given Diego Carlos the slip.
“Re: Inter v Real Madrid. I’m squinting really hard, but there just aren’t enough commas in the combined transfer fees to make it work,” writes Joe Pearson. “And there’s no way you could confuse Emery with Ancelotti.” You could maybe mistake Nicky Hayen for Zinedine Zidane – if he cropped his hair and put on a retro France top? No?
16 mins: Casper Nielsen, whose burgeoning ‘tache suggests he is “doing” Movember, is booked for a clumsy challenge on Tielemans. Villa look to break upfield, but Bailey and McGinn can’t connect down the right flank.
15 mins: Perhaps sensing my attention had wandered, Tzolis wins a free kick high up the pitch. It’s played horizontally to De Cuyper, whose low shot is easily held by Martinez.
14 mins: In case you’ve clicked on this MBM hoping for some ‘In Bruges’ references, I have to confess that I’ve never actually seen the film. What cult classics have you never got round to watching? Get in touch.
13 mins: Villa are pressing a bit higher up now and win the ball down by the corner flag, setting up Rogers for a shot that flies low and wide. From the corner, they are penalised for a foul.
12 mins: Tonight’s other early kick-off features Shakhtar Donetsk and Young Boys, and is currently goalless. That game is being played in Gelsenkirchen, not a million miles away from Bruges.
9 mins: Bailey tries the same trick, with a smart through ball played quickly in to Watkins. He has three defenders to contend with, and while he gets away from two, Joel Ordóñez does very well to get across and poke the ball back to Mignolet.
8 mins: Bailey tries to connect with Rogers, but his pass runs through to Mignolet.
7 mins: If you squint, this could be Inter v Real Madrid. No, keep squinting. A bit harder.
6 mins: Rogers looks for McGinn, who has pushed up into the area, but the ball deflects on to a Brugge arm. The referee waves away appeals for what would have been a free kick next to the ‘D’.
4 mins: The hosts, beaten just once at home in the league since February, have made the more positive start. They’ll be hoping to make life more difficult for Villa than Young Boys did in the opening round of games.
2 mins: Tzolis cuts past Konsa to the byline and rolls the ball across goal – it’s begging to be put away, but nobody anticipates the cross and gets to the far post in time.
1 min: Youri Tielemans’ every touch is being booed, because he used to play for Anderlecht. That Belgian beef runs deep.
Kick off
We will have a minute’s silence before the start, in memory of the victims of flooding in Valencia. Unai Emery has close ties to the region, having managed Valencia and Villarreal previously in his career.
The players are out on the pitch on a mild night in Bruges. Everyone lines up for the Champions League anthem, a few handshakes and we’re good to go. The hosts are in their traditional blue and black stripes, Villa in an all-white variation on their away kit.
Unai Emery: “We are trying to manage different moments in different competitions, but the players [tonight] are available and ready. This competition is something special, and we have to separate it from the Premier League … playing away from home, trying to win and get another clean sheet – it’s a challenge for us tonight.”
“I cannot begin to tell you how much I enjoyed Sporting’s thrashing of Manchester City last night and even more the excuses that have been trotted out about injuries,” writes Rick Harris. “The PL is by far the richest league on the planet and PL clubs have the financial clout to outbuy almost all other clubs, so no excuses for Villa tonight or Arsenal if they get gubbed.”
On the Club Brugge team sheet, the most familiar name to British readers is veteran keeper Simon Mignolet, formerly of Liverpool and Sunderland. They are missing some key players tonight – Raphael Onyedika is suspended, and fellow midfielder Hugo Vetlesen only on the bench as he recovers from injury.
Striker Gustaf Nilsson, signed from Union SG in the summer, is also out injured, leaving Hayen’s side without an attacking focal point. They have plenty of creative talent, though, in the likes of Andreas Skov Olsen, Spanish forward Ferran Jutglà and Greek winger Christos Tzolis, who scored a belter in the team’s away win over Sturm Graz.
Some pre-game reading, on more Fun and Games in South America:
Plenty o’ changes from Unai Emery after the 4-1 shoeing at Tottenham, with Diego Carlos, Tyrone Mings and Ian Maatsen coming into the back four. Kamara replaces Onana in midfield, with Leon Bailey replacing Jacob Ramsey further forward. Ollie Watkins keeps his place ahead of Jhon Durán, who may not be too thrilled about it.
Team news
Club Brugge (4-3-3): Mignolet; Seys, Ordoñez, Mechele, De Cuyper; Jashari, Nielsen, Vanaken (c); Skov Olsen, Tzolis, Jutgla.
Subs: Jackers, Romero, Vetlesen, Meijer, Vermant, Skoras, Siquet, Spileers, Sabbe, Talbi.
Aston Villa (4-2-3-1): Martínez; Konsa, Diego Carlos, Mings, Maatsen; Kamara, Tielemans; Bailey, Rogers, McGinn (c); Watkins.
Subs: Gauci, Olsen, Durán, Buendia, Digne, Torres, Philogene-Bidace, Nedeljkovic, Onana, Bogarde, Ramsey, Swinkels.
Referee: Tobias Stieler (Germany)
Preamble
Aston Villa’s Champions League run might be the feelgood story of the season so far – and we could all use a feelgood story right now, couldn’t we? In the Premier League, Villa have forced their way into an expanded “big eight” – and that’s also the very realistic target Unai Emery has set his players in Europe.
Victory in Belgium tonight would see Villa join Liverpool as the only teams with a 100% record from four games – and well on the way to securing a top-eight finish, and a golden ticket to the last 16. Emery’s side are yet to concede a goal in Europe this season, and will kick off against Club Brugge as warm favourites to make it four wins from four.
That said, the fixture list from here is tricky (Juventus and Celtic at home, Leipzig and Monaco away) and with the continental itinerary creating some domestic turbulence –and some big Premier League games to negotiate before the end of January – Emery will be very keen to get an extra three points on the board here.
Standing in their way are a team rediscovering their groove after struggling under Scott Parker and Ronny Deila, winning last season’s Belgian title and currently sitting second in the table. The new man in charge, Nicky Hayen, was manager of Haverfordwest County in early 2022, but is now building a reputation as a young coach to watch.