Aston Villa edged closer to Europa League knockout qualification with a 2-1 win over Young Boys, thanks to Donyell Malen’s brace.
Malen struck twice before half-time, sharp and lively, taking his season total to six and leaving Villa well in control.
But his second strike set off flashpoints behind the goal, with Young Boys supporters launching cups and other objects towards celebrating players in the corner.
One cup struck Malen and left him with a cut to his head. Police stepped in quickly, stewards followed, and the match was halted for five minutes while order was restored.
Young Boys captain Loris Benito crossed the pitch to speak directly to the crowd, and for a while tension hung over the stadium.
Villa settled again once play resumed, though Joel Monteiro’s late effort offered the Swiss side brief hope before Unai Emery’s team saw out the result.
After the game, Emery was more interested in discussing Malen’s development than the flashpoints in the stands.
“He’s progressively getting better. Progressively he is getting fit and he played with his national team (Netherlands). “
He is doing his tasks over his goals and for me the most important thing is how he is working, how he is getting fit and better.
“Doing his tasks like we are tactically demanding from each player and then he’s getting numbers, which is fantastic. He’s helping us and really performing very good and keeps going.”
Asked about the crowd trouble, Emery kept his response brief. “We need respect for both sides. It is not necessary to get a moment like we had today. Respect for both sides. I think he’s (Malen) OK.”
Young Boys manager Gerardo Seoane was left apologising for the scenes. He accepted the disruption reflected poorly on his club, though he believed emotions in the moment played a role.
“It’s normal when you score a goal that you want to be with your team-mates. Maybe it was a small provocation, I don’t know. Our fans could have taken this as a provocation.
“This is part of football but our fans should not react so angrily. The referee asked our captain to go calm our supporters.
“Some fans came down to talk to the players and the police reacted like they were jumping on the pitch, but that was not their intention.
“It’s a pity for everybody throwing the objects. The result is not nice for anybody. We apologise, we don’t feel good and not the way our supporters are normally, or how we want to act when we are guests somewhere and no one wins at the end, everybody loses in this situation.
“Football is with emotions. There is a rule to not provoke, nobody does it on purpose, it was more the joy of scoring.”
