FootyChatter.com

Jadon Sancho joined Aston Villa on loan from Manchester United in September At a glance Jadon Sancho's first Aston Villa goal secures win at Fenerbahce Manchester United loanee heads in Matty Cash's deflected cross from close range Win means Villa qualify directly for last 16 with one league phase match to spare Fenerbahce have late equaliser ruled out by video assistant referee Player rater Jadon Sancho scored his first Aston Villa goal as they beat Fenerbahce and qualified for the Europa League last 16 with a game to spare. Sancho latched on to Matty Cash's deflected cross and nodded the ball beyond Fenerbahce keeper Ederson from close range in the 25th minute. Villa's six wins from their opening seven games means they sit third in the competition's league phase table, and can no longer drop out of the top eight. But the visitors needed a video assistant referee intervention to assure their victory in Istanbul. With 15 minutes remaining, Kerem Akturkoglu thought he had buried an equaliser, but it was ruled out for an offside in the build-up against former Villa striker Jhon Duran. Have your say on Aston Villa's performance Villa, who made six changes from Sunday's Premier League loss at home to Everton, had most of the chances until Fenerbahce pushed in the closing stages. Sancho should have doubled his tally in the 42nd minute when he rounded Ederson after being played through by Morgan Rogers, but his eventual shot was blocked on the goalline by Fenerbahce captain Milan Skriniar. Rogers did find the net on the follow-up but the ball had hit the referee before reaching the forward and possession was called dead. He had another strike disallowed in the second half as team-mate Sancho timed his run too early before squaring the ball for a tap-in. Moments earlier, full-back Cash had struck the far post with a dipping shot from 25 yards out. Midway through the second half, Villa keeper Marco Bizot did well to dive to his right and deny substitute Talisca, who had gone through on goal. Sancho was playing in his 19th game for Villa, having joined on loan from Manchester United in September. The 25-year-old has only started two Premier League games this season, but in the Europa League he has been in Villa's starting line-up for each of their past five matches. Along with Rogers, he was Villa's most creative player in a hostile atmosphere in Turkey. He constantly popped up in Fenerbahce's box and was unfortunate not to add a second goal and an assist to his tally. Sancho's United contract expires next summer but they have an option to extend it. He last played for United in August 2024 and has spent the past 18 months on loan at Borussia Dortmund and Chelsea. Villa boss Unai Emery - a record four-time Europa League winner, managing his 100th game in the competition - gave Tyrone Mings his first start since November, the defender having been sidelined with a thigh injury. Amadou Onana, who has been out with a hamstring issue, was given a late cameo off the bench. Emery also appeared to be unhappy with his midfielder Youri Tielemans, gesticulating to the Belgian as he was substituted off in the 92nd minute. Aston Villa can now rest their players in their final league phase game at home to Red Bull Salzburg on Thursday, 29 January. The Europa League knockout phase play-off draw takes place at 12: 00 GMT on Friday, 30 January. Villa's next game is at Newcastle in the Premier League on Sunday (14: 00 GMT). After the opportunity to rate players has closed, the score displayed represents the average from all the submissions by BBC Sport users. Comments can not be loaded To load Comments you need to enable Java Script in your browser Last Updated 22nd January 2026 at 21: 58 Please Note: All times UK. Tables are subject to change. The BBC is not responsible for any changes that may be made. Manager: Domenico Tedesco Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 Manager: Unai Emery Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 Manager: Domenico Tedesco Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 Manager: Unai Emery Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 UEFA Europa League All competitions Fenerbahçe have lost both of their previous major European meetings with Aston Villa, losing 4-0 in the first leg and 2-0 in the second leg of the first round of the 1977-78 UEFA Cup. Aston Villa’s last European match against a side from Türkiye saw them beat Trabzonspor 2-1 in the UEFA Cup in November 1994, although they were eliminated on away goals rule in that tie after a 2-2 draw on aggregate. Across MD5 and MD6 of this season’s UEFA Europa League, no player scored more goals than Fenerbahçe’s Talisca (4). He’d only scored two goals in 13 Europa League games before this. This will be Aston Villa manager Unai Emery’s 100th match in the UEFA Europa League (since 2009-10), becoming the first manager to reach that milestone. Indeed, the nearest manager to Emery in terms of games in the competition is Jorge Jesus on 68. Among players to play 20+ matches in the UEFA Europa League (since 2009-10), Victor Lindelöf has the best passing accuracy (93. 1%); the Swede has only misplaced 13 of 271 passes in this season’s competition for Aston Villa (95. 3% accuracy). Victor Lindelöf (Aston Villa) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul. Kerem Aktürkoglu (Fenerbahce) wins a free kick on the left wing. Foul by Victor Lindelöf (Aston Villa). VAR Decision: No Goal Fenerbahce 0-1 Aston Villa. GOAL OVERTURNED BY VAR: Kerem Aktürkoglu (Fenerbahce) scores but the goal is ruled out after a VAR review. Offside, Fenerbahce. Jhon Durán is caught offside. Substitution, Aston Villa. Andrés García replaces Jadon Sancho. Substitution, Aston Villa. Amadou Onana replaces Emiliano Buendía. Substitution, Aston Villa. Evann Guessand replaces Morgan Rogers. Substitution, Aston Villa. Ian Maatsen replaces Matty Cash. Substitution, Fenerbahce. Edson Álvarez replaces Ismail Yüksek. Corner, Fenerbahce. Conceded by Matty Cash. Corner, Fenerbahce. Conceded by Marco Bizot. Attempt saved. Ismail Yüksek (Fenerbahce) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom left corner by Marco Bizot (Aston Villa). Delay over. They are ready to continue. Delay in match because of an injury Marco Bizot (Aston Villa). Attempt missed. Talisca (Fenerbahce) left footed shot from outside the box misses to the right. Assisted by Marco Asensio. Attempt saved. Talisca (Fenerbahce) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal by Marco Bizot (Aston Villa). Assisted by Jhon Durán. Attempt saved. Kerem Aktürkoglu (Fenerbahce) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal by Marco Bizot (Aston Villa). Assisted by Marco Asensio. VAR Decision: No Goal Fenerbahce 0-1 Aston Villa. Copyright © 2026 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.