Aston Villa lost 1-0 away to Monaco, ending their hopes of advancing to the last eight of the Champions League.
Wilfried Singo’s header in the eighth minute proved the difference at Stade Louis II. This was the second defeat for the dominant Villa team on their European tour.
The result means Unai Emery’s side remain firmly in the top eight, with most of their Champions League rivals remaining in round seven. The Midlands side will play Celtic at home in their final group game.
Meanwhile, Monaco have moved up to ninth in the table, level on points with Villa, boosting their hopes of automatically progressing to the last 16.
The visiting team enjoyed some early attacks, but it was Monaco who took the lead with Singo’s header from close range after Briel Embolo’s header was initially saved by Emiliano Martinez.
Aston Villa come back within 10 minutes 👀
Wilfried Singo heads Emiliano Martinez’s first save over the line, wary of giving Monaco an early lead.
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— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) January 21, 2025
Villa looked restless in front of goal, making a number of crudely misplaced passes, including one from Ezri Konsa who forced a strong save from Martinez to deny Magnes Arciuche.
The visitors regained their composure and were in the lead for much of the second half, although they were unable to convert too many chances. Lucas Digne tried his luck with a free kick from 25 yards, but his well-taken shot was easily on target.
Emiliano Buendia’s nice ball then found the Jamaican after a smart touch from Ollie Watkins, while Leon Bailey was just unable to equalize from close range.
Villa’s best chance of the first half came when Watkins was met with a wonderful through ball from Bnedia, but the Villa striker’s shot was saved to the right by goalkeeper Radosław Majecki.
It was a great combination between Emi Buendia and Ollie Watkins, but the Villa striker had his shot deflected off the post 😫
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Monaco then had time to miss a clear chance when Archiusz found space from close range and was unable to block his shot.
Villa started the second half better, with Watkins scoring in front of goal from the left and Morgan Rodgers unable to hit a shot wide of the post.
Arciusz then thought he had made it 2-0 with a goal from close range, but the 22-year-old shot too early and was flagged for offside.
Emery introduced John Duran to play alongside Watkins in a bid to give Villa an impetus, but it was to no avail and there were few chances in the remaining 30 minutes of the encounter.
Matty Cash’s feed was sent into goal by Rodgers, but the right-back simply sent his shot wide.
