Aston Villa thrash Viking 3-1 with penalty, own goal and dominant display

Ross Barkley found himself unmarked at the back post in the 22nd minute and headed home from point-blank range to open the scoring on a night when Aston Villa ended up thrashing Viking 3-1 at Villa Park in the Champions League. The final score only confirmed what had been clear on the field from the opening minutes: total dominance from the home side, who kept pouring forward into the Norwegian box and were further helped by a penalty and an own goal to put the game away before the hour mark.

The match started with Aston Villa looking insistently for the aerial route: Nicolas Jackson tried twice with headers in the first six minutes without luck, until the home side's pressure finally paid off at the corner that Barkley converted. Just twelve minutes later, in the 33rd minute, Zlatko Tripic fouled Alysson inside the box and the referee pointed to the spot after a VAR review at minute 34. Emiliano Buendia made no mistake from twelve yards two minutes later, slotting it low to the keeper's right to make it 2-0.

The game could have been put to bed right there, but Viking never found a way to stem Aston Villa's attack in the second half. In the 61st minute, a cross aimed into the box deflected off Henrik Heggheim and went in as an own goal: 3-0, and the match was all but decided. The Norwegians pulled one back only in the 83rd minute, when Peter Christiansen finished with his left foot from the center of the box after an assist from Kristoffer Askildsen, a goal that went up on the scoreboard after a VAR check two minutes later. There was no time left for any further drama.

A gap the numbers back up

The match statistics leave no doubt about who controlled the game. Aston Villa were far superior in clear-cut chances and shots on target.

According to our estimate based on the match's shot data, Aston Villa generated 4.17 expected goals to just 0.82 for Viking, a gap that confirms the final 3-1 scoreline actually undersold what the home side produced over the 90 minutes.

The preview we published ahead of the match had Aston Villa as favorites with a 54% chance of winning, against 23% for a draw and 23% for a Viking victory, with expected goals of 2.09 for the home side and 1.34 for Viking. The final score ended up more lopsided than projected, though the overall direction of the result, a clear home win, was exactly what we anticipated.

What it means in the standings

With this win, Aston Villa stay near the top of the group, sitting second with 9 points from 3 games played, all won. Viking, meanwhile, remain in 33rd place with just 1 point from the same number of outings, the product of a draw and two defeats. The gap between the two sides in the standings stands at 8 points, a fairly accurate reflection of what played out on the field at Villa Park: one team that hit the gas from the opening whistle and another that never managed to contain its opponent's offensive flow, though Christiansen's late goal at least allowed them to put a better gloss on the final score.