Villa 'naive' at the Nou Camppublished at 22:50 GMT 3 November
22:50 GMT 3 November
Stephen Warnock Former Liverpool defender on BBC Radio 5 Live
Image source, Getty Images
The word you'd use in this performance is naive from Aston Villa.
I think there were a lot of times what they did in forward areas were impressive. The final ball wasn't quite there tonight. You cannot try and play out from the back.
It was like a pack of wolves hunting the way Barcelona go after the ball, and they're just waiting and as soon as that first pass is played, they're on it.
A little bit disappointing in the second half after being so positive in the first half, but a huge lesson to learn here tonight against Barcelona as to what the level is.
Barcelona 3-0 Aston Villa: What Emery and McGinn saidpublished at 22:49 GMT 3 November
22:49 GMT 3 November
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Aston Villa boss Unai Emery, speaking to TNT Sports: "The result is not good, a lot of things positive but it was not enough to get a good result.
"How we are building the team is clear in 90 minutes, but we have young players, talented players and experienced players. Today we conceded some mistakes. Over the process we've had here, we have made those mistakes but then overcame them.
"Today, more or less, after the mistake we made, we were creating chances, facing them with individual duels. If we could score one goal with the chances we had in the first half, maybe it would have been different, but we were not clinical.
"I can feel on one side we are comfortable doing our way because we have nine points because of the good work before. We should be realistic but at the same time feeling good how we are doing it.
"Of course, I have my opinion how we can get better, but the experience today was very important.
"This is the level we want to achieve again. Today was a good experience, bad result, but good things as well. In this level you must be more ruthless."
Aston Villa captain John McGinn, speaking to TNT Sports: "Barcelona made the right decisions at the right times and scored really good goals.
"The manager spoke about being clinical at important moments in the game. When you come here 50-50s sometimes don't go your way. They also leave players up the pitch, so if you lose the ball they can be away.
"I think we are competitive against teams at this level, we have shown that whether it is Bayern Munich or PSG. Tonight was a huge learning curve for us, and I am sure it will stand us in good stead for the future."
Did you know?
Aston Villa suffered their joint-heaviest defeat in major European competition, having also lost by three goals to Royal Antwerp in September 1975 (1-4) and Inter Milan in November 1990 (0-3), both in the UEFA Cup.
No Premier League side has committed more errors leading to goals in all competitions this season than Aston Villa (7, level with Sunderland).
Barcelona v Aston Villa: How the players ratedpublished at 22:17 GMT 3 November
22:17 GMT 3 November
Aston Villa starting XI:
Zion Suzuki: Had no chance with Lamine Yamal's opener but played his part in the mess which led to the crucial opening goal. Saved from Anthony Gordon but wrong-footed by Raphinha's strike and no chance with the third. 6
Matty Cash: A arrowed volley almost brought Villa level soon after Yamal's goal but his attacking instincts were restricted. 6
Pau Torres: One great last-ditch tackle denied Raphinha, but was unlucky when the former Leeds forward's shot clipped his heel and rolled in. 6
Victor Lindelof: A good early block to stop Gordon's shot but he was unable to stop Barca moving further clear in the second half. 6
Ian Maatsen: Handed an early booking for a foul on Yamal but walked the tightrope well against the young superstar. 6
Joao Gomes: Gifted the ball to Yamal with an awful mistake for the opener but was close to finding a quick leveller. 5
Boubacar Kamara: A difficult game with Barcelona's ability in the middle and he was not able to dictate as he would like. 6
John McGinn: The skipper was left trailing by Joao Cancelo for Barcelona's third goal before being replaced soon after. 6
Emi Buendia: Booked for a foul on Fermin Lopez and was eventually taken off as he ran the risk of a second caution. 5
Johan Manzambi: Scuffed an effort wide and tested Joan Garcia but his influence waned in the second half before he was replaced. 6
Nicolas Jackson: Carried a threat in the first half and maybe could have tapped in after Leon Goretzka's header hit the post. Booked for a scuffle with Pau Cubarsi. 6
Aston Villa substitutes:
Ibrahim Mbaye (on 62, Buendia) Drew a save from Joan Garcia but lacked end product. 5
Leon Goretzka (on 62, Manzambi) His header kissed the post as Villa went close in the second half. 6
Ross Barkley (on 62, Joao Gomes): Shot over late on as Villa looked for a consolation. 5
Alysson (on 77, McGinn)
Tammy Abraham (on 77, Jackson)
Subs not used: Bizot, Wright, Harwood-Bellis, Mings, Garnacho, Hemmings.
You can also listen to today's 5 Live Champions League commentary on your smart speaker. Just say "Alexa, ask BBC Sounds to play Barcelona v Aston Villa" or "Alexa, ask BBC Sounds to play the Villamatch".
Watch highlights of every Champions League game from 22:00 on Wednesday on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website and app.
There will also be a Champions League Match of the Day on BBC One from 22:40 to 00:00 on Wednesday.
Can Villa cause an upset at Barcelona?published at 13:49 GMT 3 November
13:49 GMT 3 November
BBC Radio WM reporter Mike Taylor is in Barcelona and speaking to Aston Villa supporters ahead of tonight's Champions League match at the Spotify Camp Nou.
Alfie: I think we've got more chance winning here than we have against Manchester United on Sunday as we always seem to struggle there! It's winnable so we have to go for it.
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Ash and Nav: I'm not sure about the result because Barcelona are on a good run of form at the minute, but who knows if we can cause an upset. Our Champions League form is incredible.
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Andrew: Even though it's a bit of a building site at the moment, the stadium is magnificent. We've been to the 2-2 draw at Shrewsbury Town so let's see how we get on! In Emery we trust and the squad rebuild looks fantastic. Everyone is going to be fired up.
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Iona: This is something special!
David: I think we will score, but it's whether they score more than us. I really think we have a chance [to win].
Villa's rise helping McGinn realise childhood dreamspublished at 11:27 GMT 3 November
11:27 GMT 3 November
Nick Mashiter Football reporter
Image source, Getty Images
John McGinn admits Aston Villa's rise to the Champions League has allowed him to fulfil his boyhood dreams.
Before Tuesday's game in Barcelona, the Scotland international has revealed his ambition for Villa to continue to face the world's best clubs.
Villa captain McGinn has only been to the Nou Camp once on holiday but is now ready to face World Cup winner Lamine Yamal on the pitch.
"I used to go on holiday in Fuerteventura and Salou and I was here on a stadium tour the day Ricardo Quaresma signed for Barcelona," said the midfielder. "I've never been since but I'm excited to represent Aston Villa on the big stage.
"I'm 32 years old and the trajectory of this club is allowing me to dream in the same way I did since I was nine, 10, 11.
"What the club is trying to do now is make this journey and make it a yearly experience to compete with the best in England and Europe.
"It's a pleasure to be on this journey with the supporters. I am sure they will enjoy today and tomorrow, but we will only enjoy the experience if we win three points."
Villa are defending their 100% Champions League record after three wins from their opening three games, results that mean they are second in the league phase.
They also travel to Galatasaray this month and host defending champions Paris St-Germain on 8 December.
Suzuki now available in early 2027 after Asian Cup postponementpublished at 09:07 GMT 3 November
09:07 GMT 3 November
Image source, Getty Images
Goalkeeper Zion Suzuki will be more available to Aston Villa this season after the 2027 Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia was postponed because of a series of deadly attacks on the host country.
The 24-team tournament was scheduled to take place from 7 January to 5 February but has been rescheduled to run from 23 December 2027 to 21 January 2028.
Japan would have been one of the favourites for the tournament and Villa, who are in the Champions League, might have had to do without Suzuki - assuming he would have been selected - for at least seven games if his country had reached the final.
In October, a missile attack by Yemen's Houthi movement on Riyadh's airport killed 13 people and wounded more than 300.
A statement from the the Asian Football Confederation said the decision to reschedule had been taken "in light of the current exceptional circumstances arising from developments in the region, including substantial logistical complexities and travel disruptions".
This is the second successive Asian Cup to be postponed after the 2023 tournament was moved to 2024 and to Qatar from China because of the Covid pandemic.
McGinn believes Villa are proving the doubters wrongpublished at 08:14 GMT 3 November
08:14 GMT 3 November
Nick Mashiter Football reporter
Image source, Getty Images
Skipper John McGinn believes Aston Villa are proving the critics wrong following their summer rebuild.
Villa face Barcelona at the Nou Camp with a 100% record in the Champions League this season after three wins.
They are second in the league-phase table, behind defending champions Paris St-Germain on goals scored.
Villa, ninth in the Premier League, have won seven of their past 11 games after failing to win their opening four.
It comes after a summer of change following six key departures and a raft of new players, with McGinn praising the new-look squad.
"It's going slight better than what some people envisaged," he said. "I have to give credit to the new players - a lot of change and a lot of information, and they have adapted well.
"They realise the structure we've built gives players the best possible chance to show their capacity.
"The new players are taking a lot on board and we're starting to gel. It's exciting and we have a demanding manager who will not let us stop and be comfortable."
La Liga leaders Barca have scored 56 goals in 14 games this season, with former Leeds United forward Raphinha netting 15 and Lamine Yamal 10.
McGinn added: "We haven't been talking about anyone in particular. They have world-class players in the starting XI and on the bench.
"We respect the players who can hurt us, but we have our own players to cause damage to Barcelona."
This will be the first meeting between Barcelona and Aston Villa since the European Super Cup final (played over two legs) in January 1983, which was won 3-1 on aggregate by the Villans (lost 1-0 away, won 3-0 at home).
Unai Emery has faced Barcelona on 30 occasions in his managerial career, winning just three of those (D6 L21). Of teams he has faced five or more times, his win percentage against Barcelona is his lowest against any opponent (10%).
Barcelona are on the longest current run without a clean sheet of any team in this season's Champions League (18 games). However, their average of 2.97 goals per game in the competition under Hansi Flick is their highest under any manager (86 goals in 29 matches).
Emery urges Villa to draw on European experiencepublished at 22:28 GMT 2 November
22:28 GMT 2 November
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Unai Emery says he wants Aston Villa to focus on their own experiences rather than draw upon his own previous struggles against Barcelona.
Emery has faced the Catalan giants 30 times as a manager, winning just three of those and losing on 21 occasions, but his time at Villa Park is more valuable to him.
"Usually in my experiences [against Barcelona] they were giving me information to learn and get better for the next matches," Emery said in his news conference on the eve of Villa's match at Spotify Camp Nou.
"With our players, we are speaking about our experiences together. We have experiences in Europe, the Champions League two years ago and this year. We have played three matches and we won three matches and done fantastic work.
"Tomorrow, we are facing one of the favourite teams so it is a huge challenge. Maybe in this Champions League [season] this is the most difficult match we are going to play.
"We have confidence in how we are building the team, how we are competing and how we are getting our experiences. How we are progressing and setting demands, this is the challenge we have. Tomorrow, the experience we are going to use collectively is our own experience and we try to get another experience here. It's a really exciting match."
Barcelona as elite as opposition gets as Villans' collective dream continuespublished at 15:55 GMT 2 November
15:55 GMT 2 November
Mike Taylor BBC Radio WM reporter
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There is now a long list of occasions since Unai Emery took charge of Aston Villa four years ago which might have had fans tapping the side of their head. Are we sure we're actually awake, folks? Are we all in the same dream?
This week will probably go to the top of that list - above the Jhon Duran blast against Bayern Munich, above April in Paris, even above the Istanbul trophy lift.
For Villans, apart from fans who remember 1982 for themselves and not as a passed-down memory - and therefore the Super Cup matches the following January - the Nou Camp has been a stadium tour on holiday or the focus of a stag weekend. Somewhere other people go, and otherworldly players play. It could never be you. But now it is.
He would never put it this way, or maybe even think of it this way, but one of Emery's most appealing characteristics is that no supporter is quite as enthusiastic a football tourist as the manager himself.
He has been to all these places before, of course. But he still often carries an air of wonderment when he turns up for his obligatory Uefa news conference the night before the game. (This was most evident in Amsterdam, when he wandered into an auditorium decorated by pictures of Johan Cruyff, head turning like an owl, and explained he had somehow never taken a team here before. "And... it's Ajax!" Suddenly, he was just like us.)
His primary task this week, however, may be to persuade his players not to feel like that. Perhaps this gets a little easier with each passing year as Villa replenish their squad with players familiar with even this exalted level.
A penny, though, for the thoughts of Alysson, of George Hemmings, of the other teenage members of the Villa playing staff on the trip.
Mind you, even though they have experienced the big time for a while, for older hands who served in the Championship mines with Villa and others - John McGinn, Matty Cash, Tyrone Mings - a Champions League night at the Nou Camp is the biggest time.
Barcelona, spraying goals everywhere this season, are as elite as opposition gets. Breathe deeply. Don't look up.
Actually, for now anyway, look at the table instead: Barcelona six points, Villa nine. Never mind who they have played so far, keep your caveats to yourself.
Until Tuesday night, at least, let others do the looking up.
Listen to full commentary of Barcelona v Aston Villa at 20:00 GMT on Tuesday on BBC Radio WM (95.6FM)
Villa's Carragher threat symbolic rather than seriouspublished at 15:23 GMT 2 November
15:23 GMT 2 November
Nick Mashiter Football reporter
Image source, Getty Images
It always seemed a more symbolic threat than one which would ever be followed through.
Jamie Carragher, while letting himself down with language, merely expressed an opinion and not a particularly extraordinary one.
While it shows naivety towards Unai Emery's situation and the control he has at Aston Villa, it was hardly something to make headlines over.
It was one Villa should have let wash over them but, not for the first time this season - or indeed in previous years - the club chose a combative position towards the media. Although, if owner Nassef Sawiris wants to do something there is very little some can do to change his mind.
Villa and Sawiris were defending their honour, as is their right, and they saw it as a slight on their ambition and how they could be perceived as lesser than Manchester United.
The idea of the traditional big six is one which irritates Villa, especially having won the Europa League and reached the Champions League for two of the past three seasons.
Gordon has helped Barca to the top of La Liga and has scored three goals in 13 appearances in all competitions, including one in Saturday's 6-1 win over Alaves.
But the 25-year-old wants to do more to help Hansi Flick's side complete a clean sweep of trophies this season.
"The challenge of joining Barca is different to what I've had before because I was fighting relegation for two or three years (at Everton), which was tough," he said.
"At Newcastle we were fighting for the Champions League and to push up the table and now fighting for Barca for every trophy.
"To be competing on every front for every trophy is definitely the most enjoyable. I think people think it's more pressure but it's actually less pressure than fighting relegation and fighting to push up the table for the Champions League.
"I want to win every trophy. I want to be the best. This club allows me to do so.
"I think I can do it more, I can maybe be a little bit more selfish sometimes. I think sometimes I maybe pass too much. I should definitely score more goals, but like I said, the reality is goals win games and I'm here to win trophies."
Gordon has previously played Villa with Everton and Newcastle in the Premier League, scoring in the Magpies' 3-0 win on Boxing Day in 2024.
"They're one of the most physical teams in the league. They've got some great players," he said.
"Certain things can motivate me more than others but I try to remain the same. I try to remain consistent with my motivation. So the fact they're English doesn't make it more motivating.
"They have some great players, I know they all have had a great run as of late, so it's going to be a difficult game.
"They're the type of team that regardless of the game, they're always in the game, they wait for a moment. They seem to always be ready for any type of game, so we know it will be a tough challenge but we're excited for what's to come."
Liam: A very frustrating evening. First half, I thought we played well, created chances but didn't take them. Fulham played well, kept hold of the ball and deserved their goal - albeit a mistake from Zion Suzuki, who I thought up until then had kept us in the game. Disappointed to only get a point.
Roderick: Were the players' minds on Barca? It certainly looked like an absent-minded display, which is so unlike Unai Emery's team. Fulham controlled the second half and will probably be feeling unfortunate not to have taken all three points. Please, Villa, don't repeat this display on Tuesday.
John: Villa were lucky to get a point. Yes, Suzuki made a bad error for the Fulham goal, but if it wasn't for him Fulham could easily have had three or four with the chances they had. He's been brilliant for us since he joined so let's not get on his back for one error.
Alex: It's two points lost, definitely. The penalty miss cost us and also the obvious error by Suzuki. However, he also saved us with excellent stops several times. What was frustrating was the drop-off in intensity and inability to handle Fulham when they turned up in the second half. We ground our way back into it but too late, unfortunately. Should be three points, with the game having been dead and buried by half-time.
Fulham fans
Brian: A good point but when are we going to use Rodrigo Muniz from the start? Gonzalo Garcia doesn't have what's needed in the Premier League and the lack of goals is damaging us.
John: Getting there, but the big gap is the goalscoring ability, which needs to be resolved soon.
Charles: The talk is all about how Villa gifted us a point through Suzuki's mistake, but the stats tell a different story - one of a match where Villa were probably lucky to have come away with a point. Fulham need to keep their heads high and confidence up. I think the results will keep coming.
Jan: Best performance of the season. Just need a striker to put away the chances. Maybe Santa will provide an early present!
Analysis: Jackson's latest not enough for victorypublished at 11:27 GMT 1 November
11:27 GMT 1 November
Michael Emons BBC Sport journalist
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This match was the eighth and final one on a busy Saturday of Premier League action. It featured thrills and spills and nearly had a dramatic finish.
Aston Villa defender Pau Torres twice had chances to snatch a late winner but failed to hit the target with close-range headers on both occasions.
After four games of this Premier League campaign, both of these teams were in the bottom three with one draw and three losses, and this draw maintains their recent resurgences.
Villa have now won three and drawn two of their five league matches since, while Fulham have picked up seven of a possible nine points in their past three games.
Nicolas Jackson has had a fine October, with his goal following one in the 2-2 draw against Brentford, two in the 6-0 Champions League win over Fenerbahce and a double in the 2-1 win over Manchester City.
This encounter took place on Saturday evening rather than Sunday afternoon because Villa play in the Champions League at La Liga leaders Barcelona on Tuesday.
Some sides would be distracted by such a prospect, but Unai Emery's Villa started brightly, with Leon Goretzka heading one chance over.
His next header resulted in the penalty after Sander Berge raised his arm.
The penalty was the first awarded to Villa in the Premier League since April 2025 against Manchester City, having not received one last season. Surprisingly, Jackson did not take it, and instead it was John McGinn who took responsibility, only to hit the woodwork.
Zion Suzuki, who joined Villa in a £30m deal from Parma in August, had performed well until his error made it 1-1.
He did make a crucial save later on to deny Antonee Robinson as the game ended in a draw.
Sunday marks four years to the day since Emery began work as Villa head coach.
The team sat three points above the relegation zone on 1 November, 2022.
Since then, Villa have finished seventh, fourth, sixth and fourth and made the Conference League semi-finals in 2023-24, the Champions League quarter-finals in 2024-25, before winning their first European trophy since 1982 with success in the Europa League last season.
Villa's attentions will quickly move on to their glamour tie at the Nou Camp, with Emery looking to secure their fourth Champions League victory in a row.
Image source, Getty Images
