John Townley’s Aston Villa player ratings after Unai Emery’s side beat Fenerbahce in Turkey
19:40, 22 Jan 2026Updated 20:54, 22 Jan 2026
Jadon Sancho scored his first goal for Aston Villa in the win over Fenerbahce(Image: )
Aston Villa are in the driving seat to finish inside the top two of the Europa League league phase table after beating Fenerbahce 1-0 in Istanbul.
Jadon Sancho scored his first goal for the club in the first half, and it proved to be the difference as Unai Emery celebrated his 100th Europa League match with an impressive victory.
The win confirms Villa’s place in the round of 16 of the competition. However, with the incentive of playing at home in the second leg of each knockout round until the final, finishing in the top two is now in their hands after Midtjylland dropped out, having shipped a 100th-minute penalty at Brann.
Villa were greeted by deafening jeers and whistles from the home crowd, who had only seen their team lose once before at the Chobani Stadium this season prior to Thursday night.
Tyrone Mings headed Youri Tielemans’ early corner over the bar, before Milan Skriniar got the better of Ollie Watkins as the Villa forward attempted to break into the box on the counter-attack.
Fenerbahce were wide open in transition, and Villa really should have punished their hosts further before the break, but went into half-time with only a one-goal lead.
It was Matty Cash’s cross that found Sancho in the box in the 25th minute, with the Manchester United loanee heading past Ederson, who was helpless.
Former Villa striker Jhon Duran started for Fenerbahce after the Turkish club successfully appealed against a two-match ban.
Mings, starting for the first time since Villa’s defeat at Go Ahead Eagles in October, dealt effectively with Duran’s threat, particularly before Villa’s opener, outmuscling the Colombian in the box.
Just before half-time, Sancho nearly doubled both his tally and Villa’s lead. Picked out by Morgan Rogers in the box, the winger stepped past Ederson but couldn’t squeeze the ball past Fenerbahce defenders on the line.
Fenerbahce’s first big chance fell to substitute Anderson Talisca on the hour mark, as he was played in by Brazilian compatriot Fred, but Marco Bizot got down well to deny the forward.
Minutes later, Villa came agonisingly close to a second when Matty Cash saw a long-range effort strike the base of the post.
Rogers then dropped his shoulder on the edge of the box before forcing a fine save from Ederson. Villa thought they had finally doubled their lead when Sancho’s cross was bundled in, but VAR ruled it out for offside.
Fenerbahce were then denied an equaliser at the other end, as Duran was called offside by VAR after Kerem Akturkoglu celebrated wildly with the home fans.
Villa will now turn their attention back to Premier League duties as they travel to Newcastle United on Sunday.
Jadon Sancho is off the mark for Aston Villa(Image: )
Player ratings
Marco Bizot
Bizot came in for Emi Martinez, who has been dealing with a calf problem and did not travel to Turkey. The 34-year-old rushed off his line well in the 13th minute after Asensio tried to play Akturkoglu through on goal, before making an important save to deny Talisca in the second half. Top performance. 8
Matty Cash
Cash provided the assist for Sancho’s opener and enjoyed himself in the final third as Fenerbahce committed numbers forward. The right-back drove an effort from distance that crashed off the post just after the hour mark. 8*
Victor Lindelof
The Swede started his fifth successive Europa League game. Before the match, and among players to have played 20+ matches in the Europa League, Lindelof had the best passing accuracy (93.1%). He was top tonight again alongside Mings in the heart of defence. 8
Tyrone Mings
Mings made his first start since Villa’s shock 2-1 defeat at Go Ahead Eagles back in October and had the task of keeping Duran quiet. He headed Tielemans’ corner over the bar in the fifth minute and dealt well with Duran’s threat throughout, notably fending him off in the box in the 23rd minute. 8
Lucas Digne
Digne returned to the side this season after appearing to lose his place in the league to Ian Maatsen. He was booked early in the second half, so had to manage himself after receiving the caution. 7
Lamare Bogarde
Bogarde turned defence into attack on a few occasions, including in the 37th minute, but his pass to Watkins was flagged for offside. Showed his versatility by moving to the right side of defence late on. 7
Youri Tielemans
One of his first actions was to swing in a corner for Mings, but the defender headed over. Villa were often loose in possession, but Tielemans had the vision and calmness to pick the right option more often than not. 7
Jadon Sancho
Sancho missed Villa’s defeat to Everton through illness but returned to start and bagged his first goal for the club to break the deadlock. Few would have predicted it would be a header that opened his account, but he took his chance well. He came close to a second later in the first half, but Skriniar blocked his effort on the line. His goal proved decisive, and hopefully it will do wonders for his confidence. 8
Morgan Rogers
Rogers played a delightful backheel to find Watkins, but the striker’s effort was blocked. His best chance to score came in the 63rd minute, when he dropped his shoulder and called Ederson into making an impressive save. 6
Emi Buendia
Buendia showed quality when he lifted his head in the first half, with Fenerbahce affording Villa space to exploit. Started to fade a little before being taken off with 15 minutes left to play. 6
Ollie Watkins
Without another recognised number nine in Villa’s ranks following Donyell Malen’s departure, Watkins led the line once again. He received the ball in a promising position from Buendia early on but was dispossessed by Skriniar. Not long after, Watkins appeared to be denied on the line as he headed Tielemans’ corner towards the far corner. Put in plenty of work, but between Watkins and his support act, they didn’t score as many as they should have from the space left by Fenerbahce. 6
SUBS
Evann Guessand (for Rogers, 75′): N/A
Amadou Onana (for Bogarde, 75′): N/A
Ian Maatsen (for Sancho, 75′): N/A
Andres Garcia (for Cash, 75′): N/A
George Hemmings (for Tielemans, 90+2′): N/A
Subs not used: Proctor, Wright, Konsa, Torres, Jimoh-Aloba, Young.
GOALS
Fenerbahce: N/A
Aston Villa: Sancho (25′)
Follow our Facebook page!Get more news and AVFC analysis hereContent cannot be displayed without consent
The latest Villa headlines sent straight to your phone
Join our Aston Villa WhatsApp group and get the latest breaking news, interviews and opinion sent straight to your phone, plus matchday team news and live updates of all the action. Just click on this link and select ‘Join Community’ to get started. The only proviso is that you must have WhatsApp on your phone to participate. It’s a free service. No one will be able to see your personal information and you will only receive messages from our Villa writers.
We will not spam your WhatsApp feed with constant messages, but you will receive updates from us daily with the latest Villa news. If you later decide to opt out, just go to the name at the top of your screen and click ‘Exit Group’. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. Click here to read our Privacy Notice