Aston Villa finished fourth in the 2023/24 Premier League and secured the hugely lucrative bonus of a spot in this season’s UEFA Champions League.
Unai Emery’s side have taken huge strides since the Spaniard’s arrival in October 2022. The former Arsenal boss took over a team who were languishing two places above the relegation zone under Steven Gerrard, but he has masterminded a transition that now sees them battling with the elite of European football once again.
Having performed superbly in the competition to date, they will now face Paris Saint-Germain at the quarterfinal stage in April, the French champions having overcome Liverpool in the previous round.
The Sporting News takes a look at Villa’s history in Europe.
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Aston Villa UEFA Champions League record
Since it was rebranded as the Champions League in 1992, Aston Villa had never played in Europe’s elite club competition prior to 2024/25.
They did, however, compete in the old European Cup, which they famously won in 1982.
Villa secured the ultimate club prize in Rotterdam in May that year, when they beat Bayern Munich in the final.
They had navigated past Valur (Iceland), Dynamo Berlin (East Germany), Dynamo Kiev (USSR) and Anderlecht (Belgium) to make the showpiece — but their chances took a turn for the worse when goalkeeper Jimmy Rimmer was forced off early in the final due to an injury.
He was replaced by Nigel Spink, a relatively inexperienced youngster with only one previous first-team appearance under his belt. However, Spink’s second outing for Villa turned into a spectacle as he made a string of heroic saves to etch his name into Aston Villa club folklore.
In the 67th minute, winger Tony Morley beat his man to deliver a pinpoint cross from the left flank and he found Peter Withe, who arrived unmarked at the far post and shinned the ball into the back of the net to win the European Cup.
Who are Aston Villa playing in the Champions League 2024/25?
Villa’s next game will be against Paris Saint-Germain in the quarterfinals. The first leg in Paris will be on April 8 or 9, with the return fixture at Villa Park on April 15 or 16.
As part of the competition’s new league phase, Villa played eight matches in the first stage of the Champions League. Four of them were at home, and four away.
They then beat Club Brugge 6-1 on aggregate in the Round of 16 after winning both legs of that matchup.
| Date | Match | Venue |
| Sep. 17, 2024 | Young Boys 0-3 Aston Villa | Wankdorf Stadium (Bern) |
| Oct. 2, 2024 | Aston Villa 1-0 Bayern Munich | Villa Park (Birmingham) |
| Oct. 22, 2024 | Aston Villa 2-0 Bologna | Villa Park (Birmingham) |
| Nov. 6, 2024 | Club Brugge 1-0 Aston Villa | Jan Breydel Stadium (Bruges) |
| Nov. 27, 2024 | Aston Villa 0-0 Juventus | Villa Park (Birmingham) |
| Dec. 10, 2024 | RB Leipzig 2-3 Aston Villa | Red Bull Arena (Leipzig) |
| Jan. 21, 2025 | Monaco 1-0 Aston Villa | Stade Louis II (Monaco) |
| Jan. 29, 2025 | Aston Villa 4-2 Celtic | Villa Park (Birmingham) |
| Mar. 4, 2025 | Club Brugge 1-3 Aston Villa | Jan Breydel Stadium (Bruges) |
| Mar. 12, 2025 | Aston Villa 3-0 Club Brugge | Villa Park (Birmingham) |
| Apr. 7, 2025 | PSG vs. Aston Villa | Parc des Princes (Paris) |
| Apr. 14, 2025 | Aston Villa vs. PSG | Villa Park (Birmingham) |
MORE: All-time list of UEFA Champions League and European Cup winners
How many times have Aston Villa been in Europe?
Starting with a first-round exit from the 1975/76 UEFA Cup — the predecessor to the Europa League — there have been 19 seasons when Villa have played in Europe, including in the Europa Conference League this season, where they have reached the semifinal stage.
They earned a comeback 2-2 draw in the first leg of the quarterfinals of the 1977/78 competition after Johan Cruyff had scored one of Barcelona’s goals at Villa Park, and they took the lead at Camp Nou before the Spanish giants produced two late replies to progress 4-3 on aggregate.
Better was to come four seasons later, when that 1-0 win over Bayern Munich in Rotterdam landed Villa the European Cup and allowed them to enter the UEFA Super Cup the following season, which they won with revenge over Barca.
Their European Cup defence ended in the quarterfinals against Juventus, and five early exits from the UEFA Cup followed between 1983 and the 1997/98 season, when they reached the quarterfinals but were beaten on away goals despite a second-leg home win over Atletico Madrid.
Alongside Paris Saint-Germain and Troyes, Villa were one of three winners of the 2001 Intertoto Cup — a tournament with a reward of UEFA Cup entry, which was discontinued in 2008.
| Season | Competition | Stage |
| 1975/76 | UEFA Cup | Round one |
| 1977/78 | UEFA Cup | Quarterfinals |
| 1981/82 | European Cup | Winners |
| 1982/83* | European Cup | Quarterfinals |
| 1983/84 | UEFA Cup | Round two |
| 1990/91 | UEFA Cup | Round two |
| 1993/94 | UEFA Cup | Round two |
| 1994/95 | UEFA Cup | Round two |
| 1996/97 | UEFA Cup | Round one |
| 1997/98 | UEFA Cup | Quarterfinals |
| 1998/99 | UEFA Cup | Round two |
| 2000/01 | Intertoto Cup | Semifinals |
| 2001/02 | UEFA Cup** | Round one |
| 2002/03 | Intertoto Cup | Semifinals |
| 2008/09 | Europa League*** | Round of 32 |
| 2009/10 | Europa League | Playoffs |
| 2010/11 | Europa League | Playoffs |
| 2023/24 | Europa Conference League | Semifinals |
| 2024/25 | Champions League | TBD |
* Club also won the Super Cup and finished as Intercontinental Cup runners-up
** Won the Intertoto Cup
*** Qualified through Intertoto Cup
Unai Emery’s history in Champions League
While he has never won the Champions League, Emery’s most successful finish in the competition was making the semifinals with Villarreal in 2021/22.
| Season | Club | Achieved Round |
|---|---|---|
| 21/22 | Villarreal CF | Semifinals |
| 17/18 | Paris Saint-Germain | Round of 16 |
| 16/17 | Paris Saint-Germain | Round of 16 |
| 15/16 | Sevilla | Group Stage |
| 12/13 | Spartak Moscow | Group Stage |
| 11/12 | Valencia | Group Stage |
| 10/11 | Valencia | Round of 16 |
