Donyell Malen scored twice as Aston Villa came closer to qualifying for the Europa League knockout stage with a comfortable win against Young Boys.
The Dutch forward scored both goals in the first half, which was overshadowed by crowd disturbance in the away end, with Malen being hit by a plastic cup as he celebrated his 27th-minute opener.
More sad scenes occurred when he scored his second soon before halftime, with the game paused for a few minutes as some seats near the Swiss fans were ripped up and additional objects were hurled onto the pitch.
But things cooled down after the break, as Villa secured their eighth consecutive home victory, continuing their revival after a dismal start to the season in which they were winless in their first six games.
It has also coincided with Malen’s strong recent form.
He scored his first goal with a header from Youri Tielemans’ wonderful cross, and he added his second three minutes before halftime, directing a clinical finish past the goalkeeper after being picked out by Morgan Rogers’ excellent pass.
Malen briefly believed he had a hat-trick in the second half when he tapped in Rogers’ cross, but it was ruled out because the England midfielder was offside as he broke into the box.
With the double, Malen now has 12 goals in 19 Europa League matches, including eight for PSV, three for Villa, and one for Borussia Dortmund.
Villa missed multiple opportunities to increase their lead, but they also plainly backed off to conserve energy.
That proved to be a hazardous strategy, as Young Boys scored with their first effort on goal, but former Hull City loanee Chris Bedia’s late strike was ruled offside after a lengthy assessment by the video assistant referee (VAR).
The visitors were rewarded for their late pressure when Gregory Wuthrich lofted a wonderful cross behind the home defense in the 90th minute, which Joel Monteiro chested down and volleyed past Emi Martinez.
Villa held on and advanced to second position in the league phase before the later games began, while Young Boys sit in 24th place with six points from five games.
Following their early-season problems, Villa are currently riding high in both Europe and the Premier League, with a win over Leeds at the weekend putting them fourth in the table.
They have now won ten of their previous twelve games, and their improved record has coincided with Malen’s good run.
