Donyell Malen scored twice as Aston Villa overcame Young Boys 2-1 in a Europa League encounter on Thursday, a match disrupted by crowd trouble.
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Malen opened the scoring with a header from a Youri Tielemans cross, but was struck on the head by an object thrown from the away supporters’ section during his celebration. The Dutch forward sustained a minor cut but remained on the pitch and doubled Villa’s lead just before halftime, assisted by Morgan Rogers.
The match was briefly halted after Young Boys fans clashed with police, prompting captain Loris Benito to intervene. Joel Monteiro scored a late consolation goal in the 90th minute, but Villa secured a fourth win in five European outings, moving just behind Lyon and Midtjylland on goal difference. Villa have now won 10 of their last 12 matches across all competitions following a slow start to the Premier League season.
“I think we’ve turned it around quite well and we just have to keep this form and stay humble and work hard,” Malen told TNT Sports, confirming he was “fine” after the incident.
Meanwhile, Nottingham Forest cruised to a 3-0 victory over Malmo at the City Ground in a repeat of the 1979 European Cup final. Ryan Yates opened the scoring with a curling effort, French striker Arnaud Kalimuendo netted his first goal for the club, and Nikola Milenkovic sealed the win on the hour mark. Forest climbed into 16th place in the group with eight points.
Elsewhere, Lyon claimed top spot with a 6-0 rout of Maccabi Tel Aviv, featuring a hat-trick from captain Corentin Tolisso. Serie A leaders Roma defeated Midtjylland 2-1, while Celtic came from behind to beat Feyenoord 3-1. Rangers drew 1-1 at home to Braga, earning their first point after four consecutive losses.
