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Aston Villa Crushes Fenerbahce 6-0 As Johan Manzambi, Nicolas Jackson Shine
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Aston Villa beat Fenerbahçe 6-0 in the Champions League, their biggest European win. Nicolas Jackson scored a first-half double as Villa took control.
12 outlets told this the same way.
Villa crush Fenerbahce 6-0
Aston Villa beat Fenerbahce 6-0 in the Champions League league phase at Villa Park on Wednesday night, with the home side scoring through Johan Manzambi, Nicolas Jackson, Ross Barkley and Tammy Abraham. Unai Emery’s team took control early, with Manzambi scoring the opener and Jackson doubling the lead before halftime, while the BBC described the victory as a first win at Villa Park this season. Prince William watched from the stands at Villa Park, punching the air as Villa’s goals piled up, and he had earlier met a fellow Villa fan at an Earthshot event on Tuesday.
Ross Barkley then scored twice after halftime, and Tammy Abraham added a sixth as Villa kept a perfect start with two wins from two in the league phase. The BBC said Emery’s side had been impacted by the rebuild of the North Stand after three winless games at home this season, but Villa showed no signs of struggle against Fenerbahce.
Jackson, Barkley and Emery
Nicolas Jackson celebrated his first-half double by making a cutting motion, and the BBC framed the night as Aston Villa finding their clinical edge with six goals in total. Unai Emery said the result mattered in the Champions League, and he told reporters, "In the Champions League the three points are important." Jackson also spoke after the match, telling TNT Sports, "I wanted to take it but the most important thing is we win."
The BBC highlighted that Villa’s win came after questions had been building following just one point from their opening three Premier League home games this season, even as Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Brentford ensured they avoided a third-straight home league defeat under Emery for the first time since February 2024. Former Villa captain Stiliyan Petrov told TNT that the team was "starting to perform really well" and that it looked like Villa were "clicking together" after the early doubts.
Next steps and context
Aston Villa’s victory kept them on a Champions League springboard, and the BBC said the clear objective was against Newcastle because of the lack of points in the Premier League. The Guardian said Johan Manzambi celebrated his 21st birthday by opening the scoring on his first Champions League appearance, and it described the Holte End as enjoying acclaiming heroes and villains. The Guardian also quoted Unai Emery saying, "We are being ambitious," and it added that Villa wanted to be protagonists in the Champions League.
Sofascore put the match in numbers, listing 34,705 in attendance and recording that Villa outshot Fenerbahce 20-15 while converting 5 of 14 crosses. Prince William’s presence at Villa Park connected the night to his Villa support, and Türkiye Today said he was a Villa supporter since his school days and watched alongside Edward Van Cutsem and Ben Dawes.