Ally McCoist names two Aston Villa frustrations he takes home from win over Young Boys in Champions League

Unai Emery’s side kicked off their long-awaited Champions League campaign with a comfortable victory at Stadion Wankdorf in Bern.

Goals from Youri Tielemans, Jacob Ramsey and Amadou Onana inspired Villa to a memorable three points in Switzerland. It could’ve been even more comprehensive, too, as superb strikes from Ollie Watkins and Jhon Duran were ruled out for controversial handballs.

McCoist, who commentated on the clash for TNT Sports, thought Villa were excellent after shaking off some nerves in the opening exchanges. The legendary former Rangers and Scotland striker did spot two negatives, however, which he ensured to mention during his brief post-match review.

The first was about the way Villa struggled to build momentum at the beginning, with McCoist suggesting it was because of the artificial pitch at Young Boys’ home ground.

“You could see it visibly, the players were taking a split second longer in controlling and passing the ball,” McCoist said. “Once they got through that 20 mins and after the first goal - beautifully executed and straight from the training ground - it was a comfortable evening.”

The second frustration was regarding Watkins, whom McCoist is empathetic for considering the misfortune of not making the scoresheet. The handball supposedly spotted by VAR was not clear from any angle of replay shown, so it was a mysterious decision.

On that refereeing call, McCoist added: “I I felt for Ollie Watkins, a centre-forward playing really well with two goals at the weekend, I really think it should’ve stood. The lad on VAR obviously saw something we hadn’t. Should the goal have stood, yes it should.”