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Donyell Malen scored twice in the first half for Aston Villa At a glance Donyell Malen scores twice in first half Villa dominated Both goals led to objects being thrown on to the pitch from away end with Malen struck by a plastic cup Young Boys had goal disallowed in second half after long VAR check Joel Monteiro's 90th-minute goal sets up nervous finish for hosts Win is Aston Villa's seventh in a row at home PLAYER RATINGS Donyell Malen scored twice as Aston Villa moved closer to progressing automatically for the Europa League knockouts with a comfortable win against Young Boys. The Dutch forward's goals both came in a first half that was marred by crowd trouble in the away end, with Malen getting hit by a plastic cup as he celebrated his 27th-minute opener. There were more disappointing scenes after he got his second just before half-time, with the game halted for a few minutes after some seats were ripped up where the Swiss fans were and more objects were thrown towards the pitch. But things settled after the break as Villa went on to seal a seventh successive home victory as their resurgence continued following a poor start to the season where they were winless in the first six games. It has coincided with an impressive run of form from Malen too. He powered in a header from Youri Tielemans' fine cross for his first, and added the second three minutes before the break, guiding a clinical finish beyond the goalkeeper after being picked out by Morgan Rogers' excellent pass. Malen briefly thought he had a hat-trick as he tapped home Rogers' cross in the second half, but it was ruled out as the England midfielder was offside when he burst into the box. The double, though, made it 12 goals in 19 Europa League appearances for Malen, with eight for PSV, three with Villa and one for Borussia Dortmund. Villa failed to take several opportunities to extend their lead, but also clearly eased off to preserve energy. That proved a risky tactic, though, as Young Boys had the ball in the back of the net with their first shot on target, but former Hull City loanee Chris Bedia's late strike was chalked off for offside after a long check by the video assistant referee (VAR). The visitors were rewarded for their late pressure when Gregory Wuthrich lofted a lovely ball behind the home defence in the 90th minute and Joel Monteiro chested down and volleyed superbly past Emi Martinez. Villa held on and moved up to second in the league phase, before the later games kicked off, while Young Boys are 24th place with six points from five games. Have your say on Aston Villa’s performance Malen hit by cup as crowd trouble halts Villa game After their early-season struggles, Villa are now riding high in both in Europe and the Premier League, with victory against Leeds at the weekend putting them fourth in the table. They have now won 10 of their last 12 games and their upturn in form has also coincided with an impressive run from Malen as well. Since the start of November, the 26-year-old has scored five goals in six appearances for club and country, and Young Boys could not cope with him on Thursday night. He and Rogers enjoyed an impressive partnership, with the latter reading Malen's runs well and he could easily have had a treble, but boss Unai Emery wisely withdrew him midway through the second period with Villa, at that point, in control. Malen's form also takes the pressure and spotlight off Ollie Watkins, whose difficult individual season continues as he was unable to add to his one goal in this campaign when he came on for the final 30 minutes, although did see a decent shot saved. The hosts were far less effective in the final third after Malen and Rogers were withdrawn, and the finale not as comfortable as it perhaps should have been. Crowd trouble marred the first half as objects were thrown from the away end This was an evening of frustration for Young Boys in more ways than one as they were a distant second best for long periods of the match, with their goal ultimately too late to threaten a comeback. The first-half crowd trouble also marred their trip to England, with the disturbances after Malen's second goal leading to captain Loris Benito going over to the away supporters to plead for calm. That did improve after the break, as did Young Boys' performance as Villa took their foot off the gas as their thoughts perhaps turned to facing Wolves in the Premier League in just three days' time. It is now five defeats in seven visits to England for Young Boys, but their spirited response will give boss Gerardo Seoane hope they can still make a push for a play-off spot. Aston Villa host Wolves in the Premier League on Sunday, 30 November (14: 05 GMT), but next in Europa League action on Thursday, 11 December (20: 00 GMT) when they travel to Basel. Young Boys, meanwhile, host Lille in their next Europa League game on the same night (17: 45 GMT). After the opportunity to rate players has closed, the score displayed represents the average from all the submissions by BBC Sport users. Comments can not be loaded To load Comments you need to enable Java Script in your browser Last Updated 27th November 2025 at 21: 58 Please Note: All times UK. Tables are subject to change. The BBC is not responsible for any changes that may be made. Manager: Unai Emery Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 Manager: Gerardo Seoane Formation: 3 - 4 - 2 - 1 Manager: Unai Emery Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 Manager: Gerardo Seoane Formation: 3 - 4 - 2 - 1 UEFA Europa League All competitions All competitions All competitions The only previous European meeting between Aston Villa and Young Boys was in the UEFA Champions League league phase last season - Villa won 3-0 in Switzerland on MD1. Young Boys have failed to win on any of their six European visits to England (D2 L4), only avoiding defeat in draws with Liverpool (2-2 in UEFA Europa League, November 2012) and Man Utd (1-1 in UEFA Champions League, December 2021). Aston Villa have won all five of their home European matches in 2025 (x3 in the UEFA Champions League, x2 in the Europa League) - since the start of 2023-24, they've won more home major European matches than any other club (12 in 14 games). Young Boys have conceded the most of any side in the UEFA Europa League this season (10), while since the start of 2024-25 they've shipped 34 goals in 12 major European matches (also in 24 in the Champions League) - more than anyone else. Donyell Malen has scored 10 goals in 18 UEFA Europa League appearances (8 in 12 for PSV, 1 in 2 for Borussia Dortmund, 1 in 4 for Aston Villa), although he's yet to assist a goal in the competition. Since 2009-10, the only players with more goals in the competition without assisting are Youssef En-Nesyri and Fernando Torres (12 each). Match ends, Aston Villa 2, Young Boys 1. Second Half ends, Aston Villa 2, Young Boys 1. Corner, Aston Villa. Conceded by Saidy Janko. Ian Maatsen (Aston Villa) is shown the yellow card. Emiliano Buendía (Aston Villa) wins a free kick in the attacking half. Foul by Gregory Wüthrich (Young Boys). Ezri Konsa (Aston Villa) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Foul by Chris Bedia (Young Boys). Offside, Young Boys. Gregory Wüthrich is caught offside. Foul by Evann Guessand (Aston Villa). Jaouen Hadjam (Young Boys) wins a free kick in the attacking half. Attempt saved. Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal by Marvin Keller (Young Boys). Assisted by Ross Barkley with a through ball. Fourth official has announced 5 minutes of added time. Goal! Aston Villa 2, Young Boys 1. Joël Monteiro (Young Boys) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the centre of the goal. Assisted by Gregory Wüthrich. Foul by Emiliano Buendía (Aston Villa). Chris Bedia (Young Boys) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Attempt blocked. Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Jadon Sancho. Foul by Boubacar Kamara (Aston Villa). Dominik Pech (Young Boys) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Attempt saved. Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa) right footed shot from the right side of the box is saved in the top centre of the goal by Marvin Keller (Young Boys). Assisted by Jadon Sancho. Copyright © 2025 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.