Aston Villa will take a 3-1 advantage into the second leg of their Champions League round of 16 tie against Club Brugge, after winning in Belgium on Tuesday evening.
Leon Bailey's early strike was cancelled out by Maxim De Cuyper's equaliser shortly after. But a late own goal from Brandon Mechele and a Marco Asensio penalty sealed Villa's first leg triumph at Jan Breydelstadion.
Unai Emery's side will welcome the Bruges outfit to Villa Park next Wednesday, where they will look to book their place in the quarter-finals of the competition for the first time since 1983.
Here are five talking points from another successful Champions League away day...
The early bird catches his first Champions League goal
For the third time in this Champions League campaign, Villa scored their fastest-ever goal in the competition.
Having taken early leads against RB Leipzig and Celtic in the league phase, the Villans did the same in Bruges.
Youri Tielemans swung a free-kick onto the head of Tyrone Mings who nodded down for Leon Bailey, and he charged in to notch his first-ever goal in the competition.
It was an assured finish, after just two minutes and 14 seconds, beating the time of Morgan Rogers’ opener against Celtic by 19 seconds, and Ginny’s goal in Leipzig by 20.
The perfect response
Mings endured a tough evening in the league phase encounter on matchday four, but he was sensational on his second trip to Jan Breydelstadion this season - earning the club's Player of the Match award.
A vital contribution less than three minutes in saw him knock Tielemans’ set-piece down into the path of Bailey to smash home.
Then in the second half, at 1-1, with an assist already to his name, he stepped up at a crucial time to get the faintest, incredible touch on Hans Vanaken’s goalbound header, deflecting it behind Emi Martínez’s goal, allowing Villa to kick on and score their second and third goals.
A superb performance from our No.5 upon his return to the starting XI.
The late show
With the game finely poised at 1-1 heading into the final 10 minutes, after Maxim De Cuyper drew the hosts level, it was anyone’s game.
Then, eight minutes from time, Morgan Rogers surged forward on the right-hand side and sent a ball into the box which was turned into his own net by Brandon Mechele.
Moments later, substitute Matty Cash was tripped inside the area by Christos Tzolis and, in the blink of an eye, Villa had the opportunity to take a two-goal advantage into the second leg. Cue…
His name is Marco
Marco Asensio. The Champions League is where he belongs, and Villa’s deadline-day signing has his first goal in the competition for the club.
The Spaniard stepped up to the penalty won by Cash two minutes from time, a crucial moment in the tie, and despite slipping shortly after striking the ball, made no mistake.
Mignolet dived the right way, but there was nothing he could do to keep Asensio’s inch-perfect strike out of the bottom corner, as he netted his fifth goal in his last four games for the Villans.
Half-time
We’ve reached the halfway point of the tie 3-1 up, with next week’s sold-out clash at Villa Park to come.
With a two-goal lead to take back to B6, Emery’s men will be looking to secure their spot in the quarter-finals of Europe's elite club competition for the first time in 42 years.
Wednesday, March 12. 8pm GMT. You won’t want to miss it.
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