Glory comes in many forms. Perhaps the best Aston Villa could hope for on Wednesday was a game of little drama. They had in effect won the tie in Belgium last week; the last thing they wanted was to have to win it again. And yet, straightforward as it was, this was glorious, a night that in its outcome, if not the precise details, was epochal, marking Villa’s return to the European elite. Perhaps that will be a long‑term state, perhaps fleeting; either way, it is significant.
There is a tide in the affairs of clubs which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune. For Villa this was one of the nights fans yearn for, a night of destiny, a night to be spoken of for a long time to come. Even five years ago it would have seemed absurd that all that they had to do to reach the Champions League quarter-finals was avoid a two-goal defeat against the Belgian champions.
