Aston Villa Cruise Past Viking With 3-1 Victory

AllScores

Aston Villa made it a comfortable UEFA Champions League league-stage night at Villa Park on 21 October 2026, defeating Norwegian side Viking 3-1 under clear skies and a 7°C chill in Birmingham. Unai Emery's 4-2-3-1 setup controlled the tempo from the early stages, with Ross Barkley and Emiliano Buendía establishing a 2-0 half-time cushion before a Viking own goal effectively settled the contest, Peter Christiansen's late reply for the visitors proving only a consolation. Aston Villa's edge in quality and finishing, reflected in pre-match odds of 1.25 for a home win, was borne out on the pitch, with Buendía named Player of the Match after a display that also featured a converted penalty.

Key Events

23' - Ibrahim Mbaye assisted Ross Barkley to open the scoring, making it 1-0 to Aston Villa.

37' - Emiliano Buendía converted from the penalty spot to double the home lead, making it 2-0.

45' - Two additional minutes signalled at the end of the first half; Aston Villa went into the break two goals ahead.

45' - Half-time at Villa Park with Aston Villa leading 2-0.

62' - Disaster for Viking as Henrik Heggheim turned the ball into his own net, extending Aston Villa's advantage to 3-0.

63' - Viking made a double change: Henrik Rørvik Bjørdal replaced Tobias Moi, and Simen Kvia-Egeskog came on for Erik Botheim.

70' - Aston Villa introduced Leon Goretzka for Ross Barkley, Tammy Abraham for Nicolas Jackson, and Matty Cash for João Gomes.

72' - Alejandro Garnacho replaced Ibrahim Mbaye for the hosts.

75' - Further changes: George Hemmings came on for Alysson at Aston Villa, while Amin Cosic replaced Jesper Daland and Vetle Auklend replaced Zlatko Tripić for Viking.

84' - Kristoffer Askildsen assisted Peter Christiansen to pull one back for Viking, making it 3-1.

86' - Essien Bassey replaced Herman Haugen for Viking.

90' - Added time indicated at the end of the second half.

90' - Full-time at Villa Park: Aston Villa 3-1 Viking.