Jamaldeen Jimoh-Aloba Secures Dramatic Victory for Aston Villa in Europa League

omidbasir- Jamaldeen Jimoh-Aloba scored his first goal for Aston Villa in a dramatic 87th-minute strike, securing a 3-2 comeback victory against Salzburg in their Europa League match on Thursday.

The 19-year-old’s goal followed an equalizer from Tyrone Mings, with Morgan Rogers initiating the comeback in the 64th minute after the visitors had taken a 2-0 lead, which included an own goal by Victor Lindelof and a goal from Moussa Yeo.

Unfortunately, Aston Villa lost striker Ollie Watkins in the first half as he left the pitch clutching his right hamstring. Villa’s head coach, Unai Emery, provided an update, stating, “He felt something, but not much. We will test him. Hopefully, it is nothing serious. I don’t know yet if he will be available for Sunday.”

Despite the win, Villa was unable to overtake Lyon at the top of the 36-team standings, as Lyon defeated PAOK 4-2, remaining ahead of Villa on goal difference. Both teams have already secured places in the round of 16, set to begin in March.

This week, seven PAOK fans tragically lost their lives in a minibus accident in Romania while traveling to a match against Lyon. In response, both French and Greek stadiums held moments of silence to honor the victims. Lyon expressed its “sincere condolences” to PAOK, while rival Greek clubs such as Olympiakos and Panathinaikos also conveyed messages of solidarity.

In the Europa League format, the top eight finishers advance directly to the last 16, while teams ranked ninth to 24th will enter a two-leg playoff.

Other notable results included Midtjylland’s 2-0 victory over Dinamo Zagreb, allowing them to rise to third place, and Real Betis’s 2-1 win over Feyenoord, with former Manchester United winger Antony contributing both a goal and an assist. Porto triumphed over Rangers 3-1, moving to fifth place, while Braga secured sixth after a 0-0 draw against Go Ahead Eagles.

Celtic earned one of the five playoff spots remaining by defeating Utrecht 4-2, showing strong early performance with three goals within the first 20 minutes. Meanwhile, Nottingham Forest enjoyed a convincing 4-0 win against Ferencváros, with Igor Jesus scoring twice.