Asensio’s double breaks 10-man Brugge as Aston Villa bulldoze into last eight

When Unai Emery accepted the challenge of reviving Aston Villa at a time when the club was fretting about relegation to the Championship, he voiced his desire to return to European competition.

It was punchy, part of a grand plan and, for supporters, a particularly exciting soundbite, but back then the prospect of a Champions League quarter-final date with Paris Saint‑Germain, one of Emery’s former clubs, felt fanciful. The Villa manager has delivered unequivocally on his wish. The Champions League furniture – the oversized badges, the giant tifos and 3D signage – will get at least another outing this season.

A couple of minutes after the final whistle the fireworks fizzing overhead spoke to a job well done. The PSG loanee Marco Asensio continued his fine goalscoring run to accelerate clear of Club Brugge on the night, his sixth and seventh goals for Villa bookending a routine win after the visitors were reduced to 10 men early in the first half. Asensio, a half-time arrival, opened the scoring, Ian Maatsen doubled Villa’s lead and then Asensio added another just past the hour. By that point Prince William was throwing his arms in the air in jubilation.

Soon thoughts will turn to the Parc des Princes. Emery watched PSG overthrow Liverpool and, asked whether the Ligue 1 champions are the best team in Europe, he replied: “Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Inter, Borussia Dortmund … this is the level and we are on this level. We have to be proud but we want more.” Villa’s next match – a FA Cup quarter-final at Preston, passage to Wembley the reward – is further evidence this is a truly memorable season.

Emery had been at pains to insist that coming into this second leg with a two-goal advantage was not cause for celebration. He referenced Brugge’s impressive 3-1 playoff win at Atalanta last month after Asensio sealed victory in Belgium by the same scoreline, and made it plain Villa had to anticipate a repeat. “The biggest mistake we can have on and off the pitch is thinking that the round was decided one week ago,” he said, wary of how these things can bite.

Brugge began promisingly but, 16 minutes in, it became clear Emery may as well have been bluffing when he said Villa were prepared for extra time and penalties. Emi Martínez, having spent a few seconds assessing the picture, nudged the ball half a yard, ready to pull the trigger. He spied Marcus Rashford’s willingness to dart behind the Brugge right-back Kyriani Sabbe and pinged a long pass downfield. The ball bounced close to the 18-yard box and the defender was in trouble, upending Rashford, who zoomed on to the ball, Simon Mignolet’s goal in his sights. Rashford curled into a heap on the turf and the referee, Daniel Siebert, looked to his assistant for help before pulling out a red card for Sabbe, who had no complaints. At least it was a short walk to the tunnel. From the subsequent free-kick, Youri Tielemans worked Mignolet after zipping a shot through a hole in the wall.

Villa failed to overpower Brugge in the first half but, regardless of Emery’s warning, it was hard to envisage how things would unravel for Villa from a position of such strength. Emery’s half-time reshuffle was indicative, with Asensio and Leon Bailey replacing Boubacar Kamara and Ollie Watkins, two Villa pillars, and within five minutes the substitutes combined to kill the tie.

Bailey cleverly dinked a pass into the box and Asensio, without glancing at goal, swivelled and wellied a shot into the roof of Mignolet’s net. Asensio would have grabbed his second goal earlier but hit a post after nonchalantly bringing Tielemans’s pass under his spell. Maatsen doubled Villa’s lead, firing home after good work from Morgan Rogers and Bailey, and then Asensio made it three. Rashford was the catalyst this time, latching on to Rogers’s cute pass before pulling back for Asensio to convert inside the six-yard box.

Asensio, who will likely face his parent club, has been a big hit. Asked whether the Spain forward could sign permanently, Emery said: “It depends. Of course, we are happy with him. We are protecting him because he is not 100% … he took the responsibility to do his task like we planned. He’s been fantastic for us.”

Villa could withdraw Tyrone Mings and Rogers midway through the second half. Matty Cash, a reliable performer at right-back, was also given a late breather. Emery was largely unmoved until marching down the tunnel all smiles. Maybe because he expected Villa to progress. Or perhaps he was thinking about his return to Paris. Six years after league trips to Rotherham and Bolton, Villa are keeping rather different company.

“The bar keeps rising,” Mings said. “The Championship feels like a long time ago. I’m really enjoying the journey.” He is not the only one.