Aston Villa beat Viking 3-1 for third Champions League win

Aston Villa beat Viking 3-1 at Villa Park on October 21 to make it three wins from three in the Champions League, though a late goal prevented them from finishing the night outright top of the standings. Ross Barkley opened the scoring with a header from an Ibrahim Mbaye corner. Emi Buendia doubled Villa’s advantage from the penalty spot after a VAR review led referee Sebastian Gishamer to award a penalty for Zlatko Tripic’s foul on Alysson. Villa’s third came shortly after the hour when Alysson’s cross deflected off Henrik Heggheim and into the net. Viking scored in the 84th minute, when Peter Christiansen volleyed in a cross from Kristoffer Askildsen. The goal ended Villa’s bid for a third consecutive clean sheet and moved them from the top of the live table, according to post-match accounts. Two reports placed Villa second after three matches; another described them as sharing top spot with Paris Saint-Germain. The result extended Villa’s strong start in Europe under manager Unai Emery. They had beaten Club Brugge 3-2 and Fenerbahçe 6-0 in their first two Champions League matches. Their win over Viking was also their fifth victory in six matches across all competitions,...