JAKARTA - Aston Villa ended the Europa League qualifying phase with a 3-2 victory over Red Bulls Salzburg at Villa Park Stadium, Friday, January 30, 2026 WIB early morning. The goal of the 19-year-old player, Jamaldeen Jimoh-Aloba, was the determinant of victory. However, Villa still failed to top the standings which remained for Lyon after beating PAOK 4-2.
Villa, who has automatically qualified for the round of 16, closed the phase with seven wins from eight matches. In this final match, Villa almost lost at home. How not, The Villans fell behind first and even conceded two goals.
However, they were able to bounce back to catch up. Young player Jimoh-Aloba, became the star of Villa's victory. Jimoh-Aloba scored the decisive goal towards the end of the match.
This achievement makes Villa ranked second with 21 points. The same as Lyon but Villa lost by a goal difference. This is what makes Lyon remain strong at the top of the standings until the end of the qualifying round.
Villa also became the only representative of the English Premier League who directly qualified for the knockout phase. Meanwhile, the other Premier League team, Nottingham Forest, had to play in the playoffs.
Salzburg itself failed to continue their performance in this European second-class competition. This Austrian elite team only occupied the bottom of the table after ending the preliminary round in 31st place with six points.
In that match, Villa still showed the best strength. Only, the team coached by Unai Emery had to work hard against Salzburg's stubborn game. Moreover, Salzburg needs three points to open the opportunity to qualify for the 16th round even though they have to go through the playoffs.
Even Sazburg made a surprise when he broke Villa's goal first. In the 32nd minute, striker Karim Konate managed to take advantage of the mistake of defender Tyrone Mings who lost the ball because he was successfully captured by Edmund Baidoo. He then passed the ball to Konate who could finish it by defeating goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez.
In a position of being 1-0 down, Villa got a big blow. Striker Ollie Watkins suffered a hamstring injury which resulted in him having to be pulled out.
It is still uncertain whether Watkins' injury will take time to recover. If he has to sit out for a few weeks, this is clearly a blow to Emery as Villa is competing with Manchester City to hunt Arsenal in the domestic competition.
The reason is that Villa and Man City are only four points behind Arsenal after a humiliating 3-2 defeat against Manchester United at the Emirates last week.
Watkins himself was replaced by Morgan-Rogers in the 35th minute. Villa also tried to rise and press the opponent to catch up with the goal. But Salzburg who had the opportunity to add a goal through Baidoo. Only his hard kick could still be thwarted by Martinez. The score 1-0 lasted until the first 45 minutes.
In the second half, Villa tried to increase the attack even though their efforts were not successful. On the other hand, Martinez's goal was again conceded when the match was only four minutes.
The goal started with the individual action of winger Kerim Alajbegovic before sending a pass to Moussa Yeo. The opportunity could be maximized well through Yeo's close-range shot which changed the score to 2-0.
Despite being two goals behind, Villa refused to give up. Only the hosts had to wait until one hour into the match to break the deadlock. The opportunity finally came when Rogers teamed up with Emi Buendia after scoring a goal that defeated goalkeeper Alexander Schlager in the 64th minute.
Rogers' goal that changed the score to 2-1 made the Villa players' adrenaline immediately high. They played more aggressively so as to create opportunities to add goals.
Villa's efforts were not in vain. Mings paid for his mistake by equalizing the score in the 76th minute. This goal started from a pass from Matty Cash which was greeted by Mings who jumped to head the ball. The Villa captain managed to reach the ball after Schlager failed to hit it. Mings' header finally slid into an empty net. The score changed to 2-2.
In a draw, Villa was more aggressive. After many failures, Jimoh-Aloba finally brought Villa to victory. He who came in to replace Buendia in the 66th minute then broke Salzburg's goal after finishing Kadan Young's cross in the 87th minute. The score changed 3-2 and lasted until the end of the match.
"It's great to make my family proud," Jimoh-Aloba said in response to the goal that sealed Villa's victory. "It's all the result of hard work after we had a setback. But I also had a moment when we were on top, but this is my best moment," said the England U-20 national team player.
Meanwhile, Mings did not hesitate to praise Jimoh-Aloba's performance. "A very beautiful moment for Jama [his nickname]. We saw how he trained hard day after day. We have high hopes for him because we know his potential," said Mings.
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