"Roger Federer, an ardent Basel supporter, was up in the stands, in the posh seats to be precise, but even from there he could surely appreciate the grace with which Youri Tielemans clinched victory for Aston Villa. Unai Emery turned to Tielemans at half-time to lift his side and the midfielder delivered within eight minutes, his classy first-time finish regaining Villa the lead, after Evann Guessand's early strike was cancelled out."
"This represented a 14th victory in their past 16 matches and it felt a significant one, too, given the pileup at the top of the league table amid the fight to advance automatically to the round of 16 in March. We know it will be challenging but we also know that any opponent is beatable in Basel, Xherdan Shaqiri had said on the eve of this fixture."
Roger Federer watched from the stands as Youri Tielemans secured victory for Aston Villa with a classy first-time finish eight minutes after half-time. Evann Guessand had given Villa an early lead by controlling a miscued clearance and firing past the Basel goalkeeper in the 12th minute. The result was Villa's 14th win in 16 matches and came during a tight group battle to reach the round of 16 in March. Xherdan Shaqiri noted Basel's strong home record after seven straight home wins in the competition. Unai Emery prioritized the Premier League and made eight changes, keeping Matty Cash, Ezri Konsa and Amadou Onana.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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