Roger Federer, an ardent Basel supporter, was up in the stands, in the posh seats to be precise, but even from there he could surely appreciate the grace with which Youri Tielemans clinched victory for Aston Villa.

Unai Emery turned to Tielemans at half-time to lift his side and the midfielder delivered within eight minutes, his classy first-time finish regaining Villa the lead, after Evann Guessand’s early strike was cancelled out. This represented a 14th victory in their past 16 matches and it felt a significant one, too, given the pileup at the top of the league table amid the fight to advance automatically to the round of 16 in March.

Roger Federer, an ardent Basel supporter, was up in the stands, in the posh seats to be precise, but even from there he could surely appreciate the grace with which Youri Tielemans clinched victory for Aston Villa.

Unai Emery turned to Tielemans at half-time to lift his side and the midfielder delivered within eight minutes, his classy first-time finish regaining Villa the lead, after Evann Guessand’s early strike was cancelled out. This represented a 14th victory in their past 16 matches and it felt a significant one, too, given the pileup at the top of the league table amid the fight to advance automatically to the round of 16 in March.

Roger Federer, an ardent Basel supporter, was up in the stands, in the posh seats to be precise, but even from there he could surely appreciate the grace with which Youri Tielemans clinched victory for Aston Villa.

Unai Emery turned to Tielemans at half-time to lift his side and the midfielder delivered within eight minutes, his classy first-time finish regaining Villa the lead, after Evann Guessand’s early strike was cancelled out. This represented a 14th victory in their past 16 matches and it felt a significant one, too, given the pileup at the top of the league table amid the fight to advance automatically to the round of 16 in March.