Historic night for Yamal as Barca sweep Villa

BARCELONA: Raphinha struck twice to propel Barcelona to a 3-0 Champions League win over visitors Aston Villa on Tuesday, ending the English side's perfect start to the competition.

Five-time winners Barcelona took an early lead through Lamine Yamal before Raphinha continued his fine goalscoring form with a second-half brace.

Barca bounced back after defeat by champions PSG in their previous European outing to stay in the hunt for a top-eight league phase berth.

Unai Emery's Villa competed well in the first half but were eventually undone by Barca's greater ability in the final third.

The Champions League anthem was not played before the game, as a mark of respect for Tenerife striker Jesus De Miguel, who died on Tuesday after an on-pitch collision in a Spanish second division match the previous day, provoking shock across the football world.

"Yes, it was a good win. I want to dedicate this win to the fans, but today I don't want to talk about football; I want to send a message to the family of Jesus – may he rest in peace," Raphinha said.

"This can happen to anyone, and it's very tough. You're going to play a game, and the same thing can happen to you.

"From the club, I want to send a message of strength to the family."

Yamal's goal was his 14th in the competition, beating Real Madrid striker Kylian Mbappe's previous record tally of 13 goals as a teenager in the Champions League.

Emery said the match was a good lesson for his side against one of Europe's biggest teams.

"We must be ruthless in the attacking third. We must be more demanding of ourselves, creating those chances to score," Emery said.

"The 3-0 is maybe heavier than we deserved, but we accept this defeat, taking a lot of information for our improvement."