Aston Villa Round-Up, Thursday 22nd October: Emery's Side Maintain Perfect Champions League Start with Viking Win
Aston Villa kept up their 100% record in the Champions League league phase with a 3-1 win over Norwegian side Viking FK, a dominant display that lifted Unai Emery's side up to second in the table (BBC Sport). Ross Barkley and Emi Buendía were both on target as Villa made it three wins from three (The Guardian). Birmingham Live's player ratings from the match saw a 9 and an 8 handed out for standout performances (Birmingham Live).
A BBC Sport piece featured a delighted Villa fan, Amy Finley, who believes the club could spring an upset in this season's Champions League (BBC Sport), while Birmingham Live looked at exactly how many more points Villa might need to secure a top-eight finish in the league phase (Birmingham Live).
On the team news front, Emery gave an update on Johan Manzambi's fitness ahead of Saturday's Premier League clash with Manchester City (Birmingham Live), with Sports Mole running through a predicted Villa line-up for that game, including a call on whether Manzambi will be involved (Sports Mole). ESPN have the details for those looking to watch the Man City match, confirming it will be shown on TNT Sports in the UK with kick-off details and team news to follow (ESPN).
Speaking to the press after the Viking win, Emery discussed Barkley's resurgence in form, praised Alejandro Garnacho's qualities, and gave his update on the Manzambi injury (Birmingham Live). Buendía himself was asked about his Villa future following the victory and made his feelings clear when quizzed on new contract talk (Birmingham Live).
Elsewhere, there was talk surrounding Emery's own future, with pundit Guillem Balague telling talkSPORT that a move to Manchester United now appears off the table, suggesting Villa remains the right fit for the manager despite believing he could succeed at Old Trafford (talkSPORT). That update came on a night which proved awkward for former Villa man Youri Tielemans, with Birmingham Live noting that Manchester United's struggles meant an earlier claim about United being "above" Aston Villa aged badly, with Villa top of the Champions League table (Birmingham Live).
Away from Villa Park, Liverpool came from two goals down to beat Villarreal 4-3 at Anfield, with Mac Allister scoring twice and Rio Ngumoha providing a spark off the bench, as covered by BBC Sport (BBC Sport) and referenced in talkSPORT's wider football news round-up (talkSPORT).
Villa supporters can also have their say on the matter in hand by voting for their Player of the Match from the Viking victory via the official club website (AVFC.co.uk).
This round-up is written with the help of AI, using only the day's headlines from the publishers credited above. Each point links to the original report — tap the source name to read it in full.