Europa Conference League roundup: Aston Villa lose five-goal thriller in Poland

Fabio Duarte

Legia Warsaw shocked Aston Villa on their long-awaited return to European football, taking the lead on three separate occasions to claim an impressive victory in their Europa Conference League group stage opener.

Ahead of kick-off, the hosts unveiled a tifo saying “Welcome to the Jungle” - a statement that was soon underlined when the Stadion Wojska Polskiego erupted after Legia had stolen an early lead.

Making their first European appearance since 2008/09, Villa were caught napping at the back as Pawel Wszolek guided in Patryk Kun’s low delivery virtually unchallenged.

However, that shock lead didn’t last long thanks in large part to Nicolo Zaniolo. The Italian did brilliantly to turn and fire a rocket shot from distance, forcing Kacper Tobiasz to tip onto the crossbar, which allowed Jhon Duran to follow in and level with a deceptively difficult header.

Having restored parity, the visitors once again got caught off-guard.

This time, a swift transition saw Wszolek turn provider as his cross from the right found Ernest Muci, who calmly finished from close range.

The Albanian attacker was proving a nuisance for the Villa backline, threatening on a couple of occasions before the Premier League side equalised for a second time.

Somewhat against the run of play, Lucas Digne profited from some penalty-area pinball, sending a deflected effort sailing into the top-right corner.

With half-time fast approaching, Duran could have put his side in front for the first time, only for Tobiasz to smother the opportunity, capping off a breathless first half.

Much to Unai Emery’s frustration, Legia took the lead for a third time shortly after the break. The lively Muci manufactured a yard of space before tucking in a low effort off the inside of the far post - a goal which took the contest beyond Villa’s pre-match away average of 4.5 goals per game.

Fully deserving of their lead, the Polish side came close to adding a fourth when Emiliano Martinez couldn’t hold Bartosz Slisz, almost leaving Marc Gual with a tap-in on the rebound.

Legia ultimately maintained focus to see out a confident performance and extend their unbeaten run to eight matches in all competitions (W5, D3), having now suffered just one loss in their last 28 competitive home encounters (W22, D5).

As for Emery’s Villa, his previous continental success counted for little here, with Zrinjski Mostar next up on the European stage for the Villans.