OGUN, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- Aston Villa’s perfect European record came to a shocking end as they fell to a 2-1 Europa League defeat against a plucky Go Ahead Eagles side in Deventer, with Emiliano Buendia missing a crucial second-half penalty.
Unai Emery’s side initially seemed set to maintain their 100% record in the competition after Evann Guessand poked home an early finish.
There was a significant gulf in class for most of the first half, and Guessand should have extended the lead but allowed goalkeeper Jari de Busser to save his one-on-one chance.
De Busser made another fine stop to deny Jadon Sancho as Villa dominated.
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However, the hosts drew level just before the interval when Mathis Suray’s deflected shot looped off Tyrone Mings and into the top corner.
A second, costly error saw Villa’s high defensive line exposed just after the hour mark, allowing Mats Deijl to steal in on a long pass and lift the ball over goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez for the lead.
Villa had a chance to salvage a point in the closing stages when defender Dean James was penalized for handball, but Buendia sent the resulting spot-kick over the bar, ensuring a famous victory for the Eredivisie side, who qualified for the competition by winning the Dutch Cup last season for their first major honour in 92 years.
The galling defeat leaves Villa in seventh place in the table, while the Dutch club moves up to 10th, with both sides now on six points prior to the later kick-offs.