Why you can’t ignore Villa’s win over Young Boys despite chaos in the stands

DCM Editorial Summary: This story has been independently rewritten and summarised for DCM readers to highlight key developments relevant to the region. Original reporting by RTE, click this post to read the original article.

Aston Villa earned a 2-1 home victory over Young Boys in the Europa League, thanks to a first-half brace from Donyell Malen. His goals extended Villa’s impressive run at Villa Park to seven straight wins. However, the match was overshadowed by unrest among the visiting supporters. After Malen scored his first goal, you would have seen players celebrating near the away fans, only for objects to be thrown onto the pitch, one of which left Malen with a cut to his head.

The situation escalated after the second goal, as fans from the visiting section clashed with police in the Doug Ellis Stand. The referee had to pause the game for five minutes while authorities restored order, with Young Boys captain Loris Benito stepping in to calm the situation. Riot officers were deployed in front of the away fans, and although things settled down after halftime, the disruption cast a shadow over the game.

Villa continued to dominate on the pitch and nearly secured a third goal through Malen, only to have it ruled out for offside. Young Boys had their own goal disallowed by VAR due to an earlier offside. Despite a late goal from Joel Monteiro that closed the gap, Villa held firm and secured their fourth win in five Europa League matches.

Throughout the game, you could sense Villa’s control and intent from the opening whistle, with early pressure leading to their breakthrough goals. Although the football on show was impressive, the negative behavior from a minority of away supporters drew attention. This wasn’t the first time Young Boys followers caused disturbances, facing fines for previous infractions at European away matches.