BIRMINGHAM — Aston Villa thrashed Fenerbahce 6-0 at Villa Park to claim the biggest European victory in their history and secure their first home win of the season in commanding Champions League fashion. Nicolas Jackson struck twice in the first half as Unai Emery's side scored three before the break and added three more after it to move well placed for the knockout phase.
Johan Manzambi opened the scoring before Jackson's double put Villa in complete control by half-time, despite two important saves from Zion Suzuki, with Ross Barkley's double — including a penalty as the pre-arranged taker — and Tammy Abraham's late tap-in completing the rout. Record £65m signing Jackson, who arrived to replace Ollie Watkins after his £50m switch to Al-Hilal, was denied a hat-trick from the spot. "I wanted to take it but the most important thing is we win. Hopefully next time I'll get the hat-trick," Jackson told TNT Sports. "It's very important. We haven't won at home. Our keeper is amazing."
The result ended Villa's winless start at home this season and provided a timely lift after they had taken just one point from their opening three Premier League home games. Saturday's 2-2 draw with Brentford had ensured they avoided a third-straight home league defeat under Emery for the first time since February 2024, and Emery had said the rebuild of the North Stand had impacted his side. Against Fenerbahce, who fielded former Premier League players including Ederson, Nathan Ake, Romelu Lukaku and Nelson Semedo, Villa were ruthless in front of the skeleton of that stand, where they had previously scored only once when attacking that end this season. They last scored six in a 6-1 win over Brighton three years ago and had previously put five past Hibernian in the Europa Conference League in 2023, and have now lost just once in their last seven matches.
Jackson has now scored four goals in three games and five for the season, quickly helping Villa move on from Watkins, their record Premier League scorer. The 25-year-old joined having helped Bayern Munich win the Bundesliga last season on loan from Chelsea and was reunited with Emery, who gave him his debut at Villarreal and saw him score the final goal of his tenure there — a last-minute winner against Almeria in October 2022. Leon Goretzka made his debut as a late substitute and Suzuki remained commanding. "Jackson is doing a fantastic job. He's scoring, he's working defensively [and] helping the team. This is very important and maybe in the future he can shoot (from the spot) as well," Emery said. Former Villa captain Stiliyan Petrov told TNT: "I think that's what Emery has been talking about with the potential of this team and what they can do. There's been a lot of questions from the start of the season, even for this game as well. People asking how far they can go in this competition but it seems as though they're clicking together and there's a flow to their game."
Emery, who described the opening five weeks as similar to still being in pre-season with 10 new players to adapt after a chaotic summer, said progress is building but more work remains. "They (Fenerbahce) didn't deserve 6-0 but for us it was very important how we achieved the first win at home and how we managed with different players, our progression and step forward," he said. "There is still a lot of work to do and we need time, we are progressively getting better and it was a good step forward. In the Champions League the three points are important. We want to be a protagonist in the Champions League. Now the clear objective is against Newcastle because of the lack of points in the Premier League." Villa travel to Newcastle on Saturday, with their hosts having shipped four against Coventry on Monday to leave them with the joint-worst defensive record in the Premier League. "He [Johan Manzambi] is a top player. I'm really happy we're playing together. I hope we score many more goals together," Jackson said. "[Ibrahim Mbaye] is [also] an amazing player. We're in the [Senegal] national team together and hopefully he'll get more time to play [for Villa]. He's very fast and it's good to have him."