Go Ahead Eagles stun Aston Villa 2-1 in Europa League upset

Aston Villa's five-match winning streak ended abruptly with a 2-1 defeat to Dutch underdogs Go Ahead Eagles in the Europa League, despite taking an early lead through Evann Guessand. Villa dominated possession and created multiple chances, including a late penalty awarded after Dean James' handball, but Emiliano Buendia missed the spot-kick, continuing Villa's troubling penalty conversion issues—they have missed six penalties in the last year, the most in the Premier League. The Eagles capitalized on set-piece lapses and defensive mistakes, with Mathis Suray and Mats Deijl scoring to secure a historic comeback victory for the Dutch side. Manager Unai Emery expressed frustration over the defeat, highlighting the difficulty of European away matches and acknowledging the need for Villa to improve defensively and be more clinical in front of goal. The financial gap was stark, as Villa's starting lineup was valued at over £250 million, compared to Go Ahead Eagles' £18.1 million revenue, amplifying the upset. Emery emphasized the importance of learning from this experience to recover quickly and improve in upcoming matches.