Aston Villa continued the impressive start to their Champions League campaign with a comfortable victory over Viking at Villa Park.
Villa made it three wins from three, following their 6-0 demolition of Fenerbahce, by easing past the Norwegian side who pushed Bayern Munich all the way to draw 3-3 in the last round of matches.
Unai Emery’s side were on top from the start, Viking living dangerously on several occasions before Ross Barkley turned in Ibrahim Mbaye’s corner at the near post after 23 minutes.
Villa continued to dominate and doubled their lead eight minutes before half-time, Emiliano Buendia scoring from the spot after Alysson was tripped by Zlatko Tripic, the decision given after a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) review.
Viking showed more attacking intent at the start of the second half, but Villa wrapped up another three points in the Champions League when the impressive Alysson’s cross was turned into his own net by Henrik Heggheim after 62 minutes.
It paved the way for a comfortable conclusion as Villa closed out a victory that was another emphatic statement from the great European specialist Emery.
Alejandro Garnacho, who has struggled to make an impact at Villa since his loan move from Chelsea, emerged as a substitute to produce a lively cameo, almost getting on the scoresheet, only to see his shot saved by Viking keeper Arlid Ostbo.
Viking pulled a goal back with four minutes left, Peter Christiansen’s acrobatic finish given by VAR after initially being ruled offside, but nothing could spoil another satisfying night for Emery, Villa’s 12th consecutive home win in European competition.