We’re now in the numbered rounds for the Champions League and the FA Cup. It isn’t that it wasn’t serious before, it was, but now it’s no resting and every match is a final. And that’s hard to do.
You heard the story about the boy that cried wolf and even though most footballers are not the brightest, they’re street smart and they can add up. There is only so many times you can make it out as the most important match of the season, where they have to leave it all on the pitch, before they start to question that. And when they start to question that, that’s when you lose them.
And I guess that’s the difference between qualities. We need our players to be smart enough to know that they don’t need to be told. They have to know that if they win these games, they’ll get to that final and then that is when everything comes together. I’m a firm believer that it’s about hard work and doing the little things right that get the job done and I don’t think football is that different.
I just think on the big occasions the big players deliver, they don’t hide. And the really big players, the players that put that work in and do the little things right all the time, in those big games, they take it to the next level. It’s a mindset thing and it can be taught and it doesn’t take time and the rewards can be immense.
And if anything, our manager has demonstrated that he knows how to win silverware, so it kind of suggests he gets the players to the right place. So we’ve got reasons to be excited. But whatever happens tonight, it’s important to keep some context. Whatever the result from tonight, it’s half time as Brugge are coming to Villa Park next week.
So, with all that written, don’t forget it’s an early kick off.
Match facts from the BBC
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Aston Villa will meet Club Brugge for just the second time in European competition, with the first meeting between the two sides also coming in the UEFA Champions League this season, a 1-0 league phase win for Club Brugge at the Jan Breydel Stadium.
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Aston Villa have faced Belgian opposition five times before in European competition, winning just one of those encounters (D1 L3), a 1-0 victory vs Anderlecht in the European Cup in April 1982.
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Across European competition, Club Brugge have won just one of their last 16 games against English opposition (D3 L12), conceding 42 goals during that time. The Belgian side’s only victory in that time did come against Aston Villa, however, 1-0 in this season’s league phase.
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This will be Club Brugge’s first knockout tie against English opposition in European competition since losing 6-1 on aggregate to Manchester United in the UEFA Europa League Last 32 in February 2020.
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Club Brugge won both legs against Atalanta in the play-off round (2-1 at home, 3-1 away), while only once previously have they won three consecutive games in the UEFA Champions League – in September/October 2022 under Carl Hoefkens (3).
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Aston Villa will be the fourth different team Unai Emery has managed in the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League, following Valencia, Paris SG and Villarreal. Only three managers have ever done so in charge of more than four: Carlo Ancelotti (6), José Mourinho (6) and Claudio Ranieri (5).
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No team have scored more goals from outside the box than Aston Villa (5) in the UEFA Champions League this season. Of sides to score 10+ goals in a campaign, their percentage scored from outside the box (38% – 5/13) is the highest in a single edition since Villarreal in 2008-09 (38% – 5/13).
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Among players remaining in the 2024-25 edition, Aston Villa’s Emiliano Martínez has prevented more goals than any other goalkeeper in the UEFA Champions League this season (+4.4 – six conceded from 10.4 xG on target faced). Indeed, the Argentinean has only been beaten with six of the 39 shots on target he’s faced in Europe this term (85% save percentage).
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Chemsdine Talbi has been directly involved in three goals in his last two UEFA Champions League appearances for Club Brugge (two goals, one assist). No Belgian teenager has ever netted three goals in a single edition of the competition (Talbi on two in 2024-25).
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Aston Villa’s Youri Tielemans is one of only three midfielders to have made 50+ line-breaking passes while under high-intensity pressure in the UEFA Champions League this season (53), along with Angelo Stiller (58) and Joshua Kimmich (54).