Donyell Malen struck twice as Aston Villa tightened their grip on an automatic Europa League knockout spot with a dominant win over Young Boys.
The Dutch forward shone brightly in a first half overshadowed by crowd trouble in the away end—an incident that saw Malen struck by a plastic cup while celebrating his 27th-minute opener.
The match paused again shortly before halftime when Malen scored his second, as seats were ripped up and more objects were hurled from the visiting section.
But once the game restarted, Villa calmly regained control and secured their seventh straight home victory, continuing a remarkable turnaround after failing to win any of their opening six matches this season.
“We needed a reaction, and the team delivered again,” a Villa staff member was overheard saying on the sidelines.
Malen’s Hot Streak Continues
Malen’s transformation has mirrored the team’s resurgence.
He opened the scoring with a powerful header from Youri Tielemans’ pinpoint cross and doubled the lead just before halftime, calmly finishing after Morgan Rogers picked him out with an inch-perfect pass.
The forward briefly believed he had completed a hat-trick when he tapped in another Rogers cross, but VAR ruled the goal out for offside in the build-up.
Still, the double boosted his tally to 12 goals in 19 Europa League appearances, spread across his spells with PSV, Borussia Dortmund, and now Villa.
Villa missed several chances to widen the gap but also appeared to ease off to save energy. That nearly backfired as Young Boys had a goal disallowed through Chris Bedia after a lengthy VAR check.
In the 90th minute, the visitors finally scored when Gregory Wuthrich sent a looping pass behind Villa’s defence, allowing Joel Monteiro to chest and volley past Emi Martinez.
Despite the late scare, Villa held firm and remain third in the league phase, level on points with the top two.
“Right now, Malen is unstoppable”
“He’s playing with confidence and freedom—right now, Malen is unstoppable,” a commentator noted after his second goal.
Villa’s rise continues on both domestic and European fronts. A win over Leeds last weekend pushed them to fourth in the Premier League. With 10 wins in their last 12 matches, Unai Emery’s side look revitalized.
Malen’s emergence has also eased pressure on Ollie Watkins, whose slow season continued as he failed to add to his single goal after coming off the bench.
Once Malen and Rogers were substituted, Villa noticeably lost sharpness in attack, making the final minutes more tense than expected.
Young Boys’ Tough Night in England
For Young Boys, the trip to England brought both disappointment and disruption.
Overwhelmed early and shaken by crowd incidents, they spent much of the evening chasing the game. Captain Loris Benito even approached the traveling supporters to calm tensions after Malen’s second goal.
Their second-half performance improved as Villa eased off, and their late goal showed resilience. Young Boys have now lost five of seven away matches in England, but the spirited late push gives manager Gerardo Seoane reason to believe a play-off push is still alive.
What’s Next?
- Aston Villa return to Premier League action at home to Wolves on Sunday, 30 November, and then visit Basel in the Europa League on Thursday, 11 December.
- Young Boys will host Lille on the same night in their next European outing.
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