Aston Villa came from two points behind to beat RB Salzburg 3-2 and finish in the top two of the Europa League, but their victory was marred by an injury to Ollie Watkins.
Villa, who are already certain to advance to the last 16, struggled but managed to score their seventh win out of eight group stage games, but Watkins was forced to leave the game with what appeared to be a hamstring injury. Villa manager Unai Emery said the club would know more about the extent of the injury on Friday.
“He felt something, but not much,” Emery said. “We’re going to test him tomorrow, but we think it probably won’t take too long. But we don’t know if he’ll be available on Sunday.”
Salzburg had no choice but to go for the three points and Karim Konate was rewarded with a great first half as he capitalized on a mistake from Tyrone Mings.
The Austrian league leaders inflicted further damage just after half-time with Moussa Yeo scoring from close range.
Morgan Rodgers came off the bench to halve the deficit and Mings reached host nation level to atone for his earlier mistake, but Jimoh-Aloba scored his first senior goal in the 87th minute to turn things around.
Jamaldine Jimoh-Aloba celebrates late winner at Aston Villa
How Villa fell behind and came back from behind
On-loan Harvey Elliott’s future remains up in the air, with Emery admitting his situation at the club has not changed, but he was named in the starting XI for his first appearance since October.
Watkins showed confidence by taking aim from long range within the first minute. Elliott almost justified his choice right away, but his shot from the rebound was coincidentally denied by goalkeeper Alexander Schlager’s foot.
Salzburg knew they needed a win to improve their chances of continuing in the competition, and the Austrian side opened the scoring in the 33rd minute. Mings was caught consciously on the ball and despite Victor Lindelof’s best efforts, he lost the ball to Edmond Baidou, who squared up for Konate to collect the ball.
Emery has had to deal with some injury issues recently, and things got even worse when Watkins felt pain in his hamstring and was replaced by Rodgers in the 35th minute.
The visitors doubled their lead just four minutes into the second half.
Kerim Alajbegovic showed some great footwork as he slalomed his way into the six-yard area and crossed the ball square to Yeo, who flicked it neatly into the net.
The home side found their way back into contention midway through the first half. As Villa broke, Rodgers played a fine one-two with Emi Buendia and expertly tucked his shot past the near post.
In the 76th minute, both teams tied the score. Matty Cash took a teasing shot, and Mings headed it past Schlager’s fist and into the empty goal.
And Villa Park erupted as the home side completed their comeback with three minutes left, when Jimoh-Aloba latched onto Kadan Young’s cross and headed home.
Villa Park key number
Aston Villa won for the third time in a major European match by a margin of two or more points, following similar victories in September 1998 (3-2 against Stromsgodset in the UEFA Cup) and April 2025 (3-2 against PSG in the Champions League). FC RB Salzburg were unable to win a major European match, drawing 2-2 at UEFA Europe, despite leading by two goals for the first time since their match against Athletic Club in October 2011. league. Jamaldine Jimoh-Aloba became the fourth youngest player (19 years, 119 days) to score for Aston Villa in a major European competition, after Nathan Delfoneso (17 years, 319 days), Darius Vassell (18 years, 94 days) and Mark Walters (18 years, 154 days). FC RB Salzburg’s Moussa Yo is the second youngest player (21 years, 242 days). He played against Aston Villa in a major European match at Villa Park and was the second-highest scorer in the UEFA Cup in September 1998 (19 years and 35 days) behind Stromsgossett’s Christer George. The third youngest player is Karim Konate (21 years and 314 days) who scored the opening goal tonight. Tyrone Mings became Aston Villa’s oldest leading European scorer (32 years and 322 days), breaking Ray Houghton’s record (32 years and 266 days) set against Inter in September 1994.
