Villa's Turkish Delight tastes delish
- James
- 5 days ago
- 7 min read
Villa put in the archetypal European performance to win in Istanbul, top the table, and qualify directly for the Last 16 of the Europa League in Unai Emery's record 35th European game for the club.
🟩 22 Jan 2026 Villa 1-0 Fenerbahçe, Şükrü Saracoğlu
Full Match Report: https://www.avfchistory.co.uk/game/5813
Line Ups
Starting XI
GK Marco Bizot | 🇳🇱 |
RB Matty Cash | 🏴 🇵🇱 | 🔁
CB Victor Lindelöf | 🇸🇪 | 🟨
CB Tyrone Mings | 🏴 |
LB Lucas Digne | 🇫🇷 | 🟨
DM Lamare Bogarde | 🇳🇱 | 🟨
CM Youri Tielemans | 🇧🇪 | 🟨 🔁
AM Emiliano Buendía | 🇦🇷 | 🔁
AM Morgan Rogers | 🏴 | 🔁
LW Jadon Sancho | 🏴 | ⚽ 🔁
CF Ollie Watkins | 🏴 |
Substitutes
🔁 | DM Amadou Onana | 🇧🇪 | for AM Emiliano Buendía | 🇦🇷 | 75’ |
🔁 | LB Ian Maatsen | 🇳🇱 | for RB Matty Cash | 🏴 🇵🇱 | 75’ |
🔁 | W Evann Guessand | 🇨🇮 | 🟨 for AM Morgan Rogers | 🏴 | 75’ |
🔁 | RB Andrés García | 🇪🇸 | for LW Jadon Sancho | 🏴 | 75’ |
🔁 | M George Hemmings | 🏴 | for CM Youri Tielemans | 🇧🇪 | 90’+2 |
Unused Substitutes
GK Sam Proctor | 🏴 |
GK James Wright | 🏴 |
CB Pau Torres | 🇪🇸 |
CB Ezri Konsa | 🏴 |
CM Jamaldeen Jimoh-Aloba | 🏴 |
LW Kadan Young | 🏴 |
First Half Timeline
⚽ 25’ Goal!, 1-0, Jadon Sancho
[🟨] 44’ Booking, (Fenerbahçe) Dorgeles Nene
[🟨] 45’ Booking, (Fenerbahçe) Jayden Oosterwolde, Bad Foul
🕒 45’+2 HT Fenerbahçe S.K. 0-1 Aston Villa
Half-Time Comment
Dink dank do, quality European first half from Villa, controlling the game in a febrile atmosphere, the late first-half bookings suggests the predictable Turkish head will be lost in the second '45. Huge moment for Sancho, who's been pivotal throughout defensively and on the attack. A comical second could've been ours but for the referee's pre-assist. Not conceding early in the second-half will be the key now.
Second Half Timeline
⚽ 25’ Goal!, 1-0, Jadon Sancho
[🟨] 44’ Booking, (Fenerbahçe) Dorgeles Nene
[🟨] 45’ Booking, (Fenerbahçe) Jayden Oosterwolde, Bad Foul
🕒 45’+2 HT Fenerbahçe S.K. 0-1 Aston Villa
🟨 51’ Booking, Lucas Digne, Bad Foul
🪵 63’ Matty Cash hits the woodwork
⚽ 65’ Goal! 2-0, Ismail Yüksek o.g. Jadon Sancho ball in
🎥 67 VAR disallows goal for offside against Jadon Sancho
🚑 69’ Marco Bizot injured on field of play, receives treatment
🕒 70’ Play restarts
🥅 75’ Goal, 1-1, (Fenerbahçe), Kerem Aktürkoğlu
🎥 77 VAR disallows goal for offside against Jhon Durán
🔁 75, Sub off, Emiliano Buendía, Sub on, Amadou Onana
🔁 75, Sub off, Matty Cash, Sub on, Ian Maatsen
🔁 75, Sub off, Morgan Rogers, Sub on, Evann Guessand
🔁 75, Sub off, Jadon Sancho, Sub on, Andrés García
🟨 77’ Booking, Victor Lindelöf, Bad Foul
[🟨] 79’ Booking, (Fenerbahçe) Mert Müldür, Bad Foul
[🟨] 88’ Booking, (Fenerbahçe) Milan Škrinia, Bad Foul
🟨 90’ Booking, Youri Tielemans, Timewasting
🔁 90’+2, Sub off, Youri Tielemans, Sub on, George Hemmings
🟨 90’+5 Booking, Lamare Bogarde
🟨 90’+8 Booking, Evann Guessand
🕒 90’+8 HT Fenerbahçe S.K. 0-1 Aston Villa
Full-Time Comment
We didn't. At all. A superb all-round performance with Bizot the star.
It would be criminal were he not to start on Sunday.
Europa League Table
Officials Game Rating
Referee: Luís Miguel Branco Godinho 🇵🇹 Borba, 2023- Game Rating:
First Half 9/10
Second Half 2/10
All fairly sensible in the first half, having ref'd Villa before against AZ, his two yellows for Fener were the first he's brandished in a Villa game.
Which makes it all the weirder how his control and objectivity disappeared in the final ten minutes, booking five, including three Villa players, presumably it was the same noise from the terraces that he booked Tielemans for that led him to lose focus.
VAR: Jérôme Brisard 🇫🇷 2026-
Game Rating: 9/10
Got things correct when called upon.
The Boss
Unai Emery | 🇪🇸 | Hondarribia, 2022-
🕒 171 | 🟩 | 96 🟨 | 30 🟥 45 | 1.86
Unai Emery 🇪🇸 leads Villa for the 33rd European game
Unai Emery 🇪🇸 secures his 22nd European win for Villa at a win rate of 67%
Unai Emery 🇪🇸 leads Villa for the 85th Away game, winning for the 39th time on the road
On This Day
Villa play their 120th game in European competition
Villa score their 185th goal in European competition
Marco Bizot 🇳🇱 makes his 10th start for Villa.
Marco Bizot 🇳🇱 keeps his 5th clean sheet in 11 games for Villa. At 45.45% that is the highest of any goalkeeper to play more than 10 games for Villa.
Full Player Profile: https://www.avfchistory.co.uk/player/marco-bizot
Youri Tielemans 🇧🇪 makes his 120th appearance for Villa.
Full Player Profile: https://www.avfchistory.co.uk/player/youri-tielemans
Emiliano Buendía 🇦🇷 makes his 70th start for Villa.
Emiliano Buendía 🇦🇷 makes his 75th appearance under Unai Emery 🇪🇸
Full Player Profile: https://www.avfchistory.co.uk/player/emiliano-buend%C3%ADa
Jadon Sancho 🏴 scores his first goal for Villa on his 19th appearance.
Jadon Sancho 🏴 makes his 5th European start for Villa.
Full Player Profile: https://www.avfchistory.co.uk/player/jadon-sancho
Matty Cash 🇵🇱 secures his 100th win for Villa.
Full Player Profile: https://www.avfchistory.co.uk/player/matty-cash
Lucas Digne 🇫🇷 makes his 25th European appearance for Villa.
Full Player Profile: https://www.avfchistory.co.uk/player/lucas-digne
Victor Lindelöf 🇸🇪 makes his 5th European start for Villa.
Full Player Profile: https://www.avfchistory.co.uk/player/victor-lindel%C3%B6f
Lamare Bogarde 🇳🇱 secures his 25th win for Villa.
Lamare Bogarde 🇳🇱 makes his 10th European appearance for Villa.
Full Player Profile: https://www.avfchistory.co.uk/player/lamare-bogarde
Tyrone Mings 🏴 secures his 30th win under Unai Emery 🇪🇸 in 57 appearances.
Full Player Profile: https://www.avfchistory.co.uk/player/tyrone-mings
Amadou Onana 🇧🇪 makes his 15th substitute appearance for Villa
Amadou Onana 🇧🇪 secures his 35th win in 53 appearances for Villa
Amadou Onana 🇧🇪 makes his 10th European appearance for Villa Full Player Profile: https://www.avfchistory.co.uk/player/amadou-onana
George Hemmings 🏴 wins for the first time in a Villa shirt.
George Hemmings 🏴 makes his 1st European appearance for Villa
Full Player Profile: https://www.avfchistory.co.uk/player/george-hemmings
Andrés García 🇪🇸 makes his 1st European appearance for Villa
Full Player Profile: https://www.avfchistory.co.uk/player/andr%C3%A9s-garc%C3%ADa-robledo
Ezri Konsa 🏴 makes his 25th unused substitute appearance for Villa
Full Player Profile: https://www.avfchistory.co.uk/player/ezri-konsa
Kadan Young 🏴 makes his first squad appearance for Villa since January 2025
Full Player Profile: https://www.avfchistory.co.uk/aston-villa/reserve/kadan-young
Scenes
What they said
"I think it is. I know I scored a few [headers] in my youth days. But I'm just happy to get my first goal for Aston Villa, and to top it off with that, it's a win.
"I was pointing at Ezri [Konsa] and Ian [Maatsen] because in training we've been practising some headers, so it was kind of funny that obviously I scored a header today."
"I just take it day by day in training. Obviously, the manager and the team are helping me to get to my best. Honestly, I know I can do a lot more. I'm very hard on myself in that aspect. But again, I'm very grateful that I got my first goal for Aston Villa, and I hope it continues.
"He just keeps on telling me to be positive every time I play. It's nice to have a manager who backs you and obviously believes in you. Again, every opportunity I get, I'm going to try to do 100%, and hopefully, I can deliver goals more.
"We're doing well in the league, and we're doing well in the Europa League. But we've got to take it game by game; you can never get too ahead of yourself. Fenerbahce were a hard opponent today; we knew the crowd were going to be with them. It was a tough environment, but we stuck to the game plan and got the three points in the end."
Jadon Sancho.
“I’m here to contribute to the team
“The team was doing very well when I was out, so it’s important to come back to maintain the same level.
“We’ve got a few injuries, so every person in the squad is important. We’re going to be as successful as the strength of our group.
“So, I’m very proud of my performance, but even more proud of how we stood up and showed a lot of character today in a very difficult place to come.
“The team is the most important thing, and I’m glad that we came through it and got three points.
“Everybody has a very busy calendar in terms of games and schedules, so I think it was important for us to try and finish as high as possible and be in the top eight.
“We look forward to obviously finishing this stage, and we will see what comes after.”
Tyrone Mings.
"We had to defend quite deep occasionally, but we did a fantastic job. They had the momentum in the second half and got close to finding an equaliser, but we held on for all three points.
“I’m thankful to our 2,000 supporters who were helping us here from Birmingham, Aston Villa supporters.
“In this stadium, how they are pushing here with the supporters, really huge atmosphere.
“How we were feeling, our supporters supporting us and helping us, it was really fantastic.
“And then we played the match with discipline.
“We were defensively getting a huge responsibility to stop them, to avoid getting in our box, creating chances, and we did.
“We had a lot of transition to score one more, one goal like we did and more.
“And when we could dominate with the ball as well, we were really getting good positions on the field with the players.
“Every player did a really huge effort and playing in the commitment we need, fantastic in our gameplan.
“We suffered a little bit in the second half for 15 mins, they scored one goal and were refused by VAR.
“But it was circumstantial because overall we created more chances, we had another goal as well, refused by VAR, and we deserved to win.”
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