Europa League: Aston Villa victory turns volatile as Young Boys fans spark chaos

Aston Villa’s 2–1 Europa League win over Young Boys was overshadowed by ugly scenes in the away end at Villa Park on Thursday night, as violence from visiting fans forced a brief stoppage in play.

Donyell Malen was the centre of it all, for the right and wrong reasons. The Dutch forward fired Villa ahead in the 27th minute but was struck by a plastic cup thrown from the Young Boys section while celebrating, leaving a small cut on his head. When he doubled the lead 15 minutes later, missiles rained down again, sparking fighting among away fans and clashes with police.

Footage from the stands showed chairs flying as officers moved in to restore order. The game was halted for around five minutes while Young Boys captain Loris Bento pleaded with supporters and riot police lined the front of the away end. Play eventually resumed, and Villa saw out the win to extend their red-hot run to 10 victories in 12 matches.

Young Boys’ coach later apologised for the behaviour of his club’s supporters.

Malen shrugged off the incident, telling TNT Sports he was “fine” and urging Villa to “stay humble” as their resurgence gathers pace.

Elsewhere in the Europa League, Nottingham Forest cruised past Malmo 3–0, Lyon smashed Maccabi Tel Aviv 6–0 behind a Corentin Tolisso hat-trick, Roma ended Midtjylland’s perfect start with a 2–1 win, Celtic claimed a vital 3–1 victory at Feyenoord, and Rangers finally got on the board with a 1–1 draw against Braga.