The game kicked off against the backdrop of significant unrest between the Legia fans and West Midlands Police outside the ground, and as a result, there were no away supporters inside the ground.
They’d have been relieved to be kept away as the Polish outfit fell behind inside four minutes when Moussa Diaby hit the target. Released down the right by Youri Tielemans, the Frenchman’s electric pace got him away from the chasing defenders before he cut inside and curled home into the bottom corner.
Emery’s side were rampant early on, but it wasn’t long before Legia gained a foothold and on the 20-minute mark, a Villa error saw the visitors draw level. Boubacar Kamara attempted a blind pass as the hosts tried to play out, and his wayward effort was punished immediately by a sumptuous finish from Ernest Muçi into the top corner.
After a subdued ending to the first half, the pace picked up as the contest opened up following the restart and both sides went close to a second. Gil Dias channelled his inner Robin van Persie with a stooping diving header which came back off the bar, while Diaby was denied by a fabulous save from Kacper Tobiasz.
There’d be nothing the Legia goalkeeper could do to prevent Villa from retaking the lead moments later though. Douglas Luiz’s free-kick was met at the back post by Àlex Moreno, who improvised well to manoeuvre his body into position to finish.
The hosts were hardly troubled from there, with Leon Bailey striking the bar as the Villa Park faithful delighted in their place in the knockout stages being confirmed. Despite defeat, Legia just need to avoid defeat on matchday six to join the English side there despite a first loss in four on the road in European competition.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Moussa Diaby (Aston Villa)
