Aston Villa secured a 2-1 win against Young Boys in the Europa League, with Donyell Malen scoring twice in the first half. This victory marked Villa's fourth win out of five matches in this season's competition,
propelling them to second place before Thursday's later games. Malen's goals came at Villa Park, where he initially headed in from Youri Tielemans' cross in the 27th minute.
After Malen scored his second goal from Morgan Rogers' pass, play was halted due to disturbances among Young Boys supporters. The Dutch international was hit by an object thrown from the stands during his celebration. The visiting players and police intervened to calm the situation. Despite these disruptions, Villa maintained their lead.
Malen nearly completed a hat-trick early in the second half, but his goal was ruled offside. Young Boys substitute Chris Bedia also had a goal disallowed by VAR. However, Joel Monteiro managed to score for Young Boys late in the game, giving them a glimmer of hope. Despite this, Villa held firm to secure all three points.
In his Europa League career, Malen has now scored 12 goals across 19 appearances. He netted eight times for PSV, once for Borussia Dortmund, and three times for Villa. Notably, he has yet to provide an assist in the competition. Since its rebranding in 2009-10, no player has scored more without assisting than Malen (Youssef En-Nesyri and Fernando Torres also have 12 goals each).
Another job well done in Europe #UEL pic.twitter.com/IWpKBaKU22
- Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) November 27, 2025
Unai Emery's side dominated with 19 attempts on goal compared to Young Boys' fewer efforts. Malen was pivotal with three shots on target and led with 11 touches inside the opposition box. Villa achieved an expected goals tally of 2.03 against Young Boys' mere 0.31, highlighting their attacking prowess throughout the match.
Despite some tense moments during the game due to crowd issues and disallowed goals, Aston Villa emerged victorious thanks to Malen’s contributions. His performance not only secured vital points but also showcased his importance to the team’s European campaign this season.
