Aston Villa lose 3-1 in Hamburg

Aston Villa paid the price for fielding an under-strength team in their final UEFA Europa League group match last night, losing 3-1 to Hamburger SV in a Group E clash in Hamburg.

Hamburg surged to a two goal lead within the first 30 minutes, using long balls on the counterattack to split open the Villa defence and create scoring opportunities for Petric and Olic. Olic scored his second goal for Hamburg on the hour mark before Aston Villa pulled back a goal through Nathan Delfouneso.

The result of the match saw Hamburg top Group E, a position that will see them drawn against one of the 3rd placed clubs in the knockout rounds of the UEFA Europa League. Villa finished the group stages in 3rd place in Group E, a position which will see them take on a group winner in the next round.

“We are first in the group and that’s what you want,” Hamburg manager Martin Jol said after the match.

Martin O’Neill, meanwhile, was confident that his side will produce an improved performance when they return to the UEFA Europa League for the knockout stages early next year.

“In the last 32 you will see a much-improved Aston Villa team,” O’Neill said.