Competition: Champion’s League Last 16
Date: 12 March 2025
Result: Aston Villa 3 – 0 Club Brugge (6-1 on aggregate)
Tickets: The only way I could get in was a hotel package. As a result, the ‘tickets’ plus a hotel cost €230 or so each. The most I’ve ever played to get to a football match, and worth it.
Attendance: 42,461
Game/ Experience Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆
The Game: It felt almost unreal to me to watch the team I’ve supported for the whole of my lifetime play in the knock out stages of a competition they’ve not been anywhere near for most of that time. Still more surreal to see them win it comfortably. In truth, the tie was over as a contest when Martinez launched a ball over the top to Rashford, who was brought down on-on-one with Simon Mignolet, resulting in a red card for Brugge’s centre back after half an hour or so.
The first half, aside from that, was quite poor, in all honesty, but with tifo at the front of the Holte, the riotous support from the back of K6 (where my son and I sat), and the knowledge that a quarter final tie was on the horizon was enough.
Enter Marco Asensio, the best play on the pitch consistently since he arrived at Villa, and now heading back to PSG to see what damage he can do to his real employer. Asensio had blasted two and played a bit-part role in a third goal within 16 minutes of his arrival, and the tie was dead, a jubilant Villa Park turning to ‘oles’ by 70 minutes as Brugge couldn’t get a foot on the ball. And this was a good Brugge side, too, well able to turn over Villa on another day even without the gift provided by Tyrone Mings in the group stage.
This was something else. Villa are as good as I’ve ever seen them, and I will treasure having been there. More so with my 11 year old in tow.
The ground: Villa Park has adapted a little recently, not least to the tendency to welcome this heroic team noisily off the coach, and the new facilities around this (we missed it, unfortunately, as we waited at the usual spot near the North Stand; the team arrived up near the Trinity).
The following day we took a tour, heard some little tit bits of history I didn’t already know, and got a new appreciation for just how upmarket parts of the ground we’re not usually anywhere near are. It’s such a stunning spot, and to me a kind of spiritual home.
Extras: A programme was a must this once, though I usually find them bordering on a waste of space. The club also laid on scarves on every seat, which formed a part of the atmosphere. How big was this game? The scarves were going for over €100 in ebay the following day. With the cost of the trip, I was almost tempted!
Assorted asides: We couldn’t go any further… could we?
My totals for the year so far:
Games: 3. Home wins: 1 Draws: 0 Away wins: 2
Goals: 8. Home goals: 3. Away goals: 5. Goals per game: 2.66
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