Aston Villa has kept AZ’s hopes of European wintering alive with a 2-1 victory over Legia Warsaw. If the Alkmaarders win at Legia on December 14, coach Pascal Jansen’s team will still advance to the Conference League. AZ will then play an intermediate round against a number 3 from the Europa League.
Aston Villa took an early lead in Birmingham thanks to Moussa Diaby, but Ernest Muci restored the balance after 20 minutes after shooting in the English defense.
After almost an hour, Álex Moreno had the fans at Villa Park cheering again. The Spanish left back scored his first goal for Aston Villa on his return after a long injury layoff.
The score remained at 2-1, meaning Aston Villa qualified for the next round. Legia, which remains at 9 points, and AZ, which is at 6 points after the 1-0 win over Zrinjski Mostar, will determine among themselves who will qualify as the second club. AZ previously won the home game with the Poles 1-0.