Aston Villa secured a 2-1 victory over Basel in the Europa League, with Youri Tielemans making a significant impact after coming off the bench. The win moved Villa to third place in the league phase, matching
Lyon on points. Tielemans, introduced at half-time by Unai Emery, scored the decisive goal, curling the ball into the bottom-right corner just seven minutes after entering the pitch.
The match began with both teams creating early chances. Matty Cash and Dominik Schmid came close to scoring before Evann Guessand found the net for Villa after 12 minutes. He capitalised on Xherdan Shaqiri's failure to clear a corner, scoring amidst a crowded box. Leo Leroy had a goal disallowed for offside shortly before Daniliuc equalised for Basel, guiding Shaqiri's free-kick past Marco Bizot.
Emery's decision to replace Cash with Tielemans proved fruitful as Villa regained their lead. Despite efforts from Guessand and Jadon Sancho to extend their advantage, and Metinho's attempt for Basel that went over the bar, Villa held firm. This victory marked their eighth consecutive win across all competitions.
EIGHT WINS IN A ROWWWWWWWW Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) December 11, 2025
In terms of expected goals (xG), Basel generated 0.83 from 11 attempts compared to Villa's 0.42 from seven shots. However, Tielemans' contribution was pivotal in breaking the deadlock in Switzerland. The Belgium captain not only scored but also created one chance, completed 24 out of 26 passes (92.3%), and won all his duels in midfield.
Villa's triumph ended Basel's impressive home record in the Europa League. They became the first team to defeat Basel at St. Jakob-Park since Belenenses did so in October 2015, ending a 10-game unbeaten streak for the Swiss side (eight wins and two draws).
