Aston Villa bowed out of the UEFA Youth League at the round of 16 stage, with a 3-1 defeat to FC Barcelona at Villa Park.
Despite falling two goals behind early in the first half, as Quim Junyent and Arnau Pradas put the visitors ahead, Villa responded impressively after the break, captain Aidan Borland’s penalty halving the deficit just before the hour.
But Josep Gombau’s Young Lions proved unable to find an equalising goal, and Jan Virgili pounced on an error at the back in the closing stages to ensure it would be Barça who advanced to the last eight, where they will face either Sporting CP or Stuttgart.
In a game that was played at a frenetic pace throughout, it was the visitors who controlled much of the tempo. Coached by former Barcelona Champions League-winning defender Juliano Belletti, Barça started the game the brighter of the two sides, but were greeted by a steely, determined response from the hosts.
Gombau’s youngsters pressed and began to enjoy possession of their own, but there was little they could do to keep the away side out, as they quickly raced into a two-goal advantage within five minutes of the quarter-hour mark.
First, a neat, intricate passage of play saw Belletti’s boys build-up slowly, before the ball found its way through to Junyent. The diminutive midfielder dummied past Leon Routh and lashed home to give his side the lead.
Just five more minutes had elapsed when the Spanish side had breathing space. A counter-attack saw Pradas found well with an inch-perfect pass through the middle, allowing him to cut inside and find the net.
With a commanding lead established, Barça sat off their hosts, allowing Villa to start looking for a way back into the game. Charlie Pavey, match-winner in Villa’s round of 32 win over Puskás Akadémia in Hungary, was causing issues with his free-kick deliveries from the left-hand side.
The most recent was cleared, but pumped back into the box, eventually seeing Jamaldeen Jimoh-Aloba sending a looping header goalwards, which had to be hacked off the line.
Immediately, the Catalans were back on the counter, and Pradas might have done better at the other end, with the goal gaping after Sam Proctor had parried Jan Virgili’s delivery clear. Moments later, the referee drew the first period to an end, the Villans two goals behind.
But Villa responded admirably in the second period, and were immediately on the front foot as the half got underway, looking to overturn the deficit.
Jimoh-Aloba was a constant outlet for the hosts, creating opportunities and leading the press, and it was he who helped hand the hosts a golden opportunity to reduce the arrears within 10 minutes of the restart.
The tricky forward was barged over inside the area by Alexander Walton, and the referee pointed to the spot. Borland stepped up and calmly dinked the ball down the middle of the goal to bring his side within one goal of their visitors.
And Gombau’s charges, with the wind in their sails, kept coming. Just six minutes later, Kyrie Pierre was denied an equaliser by a vital save from Áron Yaakobishvili, after great work from substitute Mason Cotcher on the right-hand side.
Villa kept themselves in the game as it entered its final 15 minutes, but were dealt a sucker punch in the form of a third goal with 11 minutes to play, ultimately putting paid to their hopes of advancing.
Barça came forward, and the lively Pradas found Virgili with a neat, threaded pass. The forward was let down by a stray first touch, but as Proctor rushed off his line to thwart him, the Villa goalkeeper spilled the ball, allowing Virgili to steal back in and tap into the empty net.
It was harsh on the hosts, who had battled well and harnessed the momentum after the break, and they pushed equally as hard in the closing 10 minutes to try and take something from the game.
But the visitors saw out the remainder to book their place in the quarter-finals, ensuring Aston Villa’s commendable run in the UEFA Youth League – their first-ever participation in the history of the competition – would end in the last 16.
Aston Villa: Proctor; Rowe, Routh, Katsukunya, Fortes (Bloomfield 82'); Borland (c), Hemmings (Lynskey 82'); Pavey (Cotcher 46'), Jimoh-Aloba (Mulley 89'), Pierre (Khedr 72'); Burrowes.
Unused subs: Hammond (GK); Carroll, Ramsey, Burgess.
Goals: Borland (56' pen).
Barcelona: Yaakobishvili, Espart, Kospo, Cuenca, Walton; Junyent (Diarra 80'), Fariñas, Pedro Rodriguez (Marques 69'); Virgili, Alba (c) (Hernández 80'), Pradas (Ferrer Saez 88').
Unused subs: Aller (GK); Nil Teixidor, Hector Rangel, Parriego, Kluivert.
Goals: Junyent (15'), Pradas (20'), Virgili (79').
