YOURI TIELEMANS served up a timely first goal of the season as Aston Villa brushed aside Basel for an eighth straight win.
With Swiss tennis icon Roger Federer watching his hometown heroes, the Belgian made it game, set and match with a sumptuous 53rd-minute strike.
Villa boss Unai Emery had looked a bit Fed up after Evann Guessand’s 12th-minute opener was cancelled out by Flavius Daniliuc.
But sub Tielemans bagged his first strike since May to keep Villa third in the Europa League standings, only behind leaders Lyon and Midtjylland on goal difference.
Guessand, one of eight changes to the side that beat Premier League leaders Arsenal last weekend, gave them the perfect start following slapstick scenes at a Matty Cash corner.
When the ball dropped to Basel’s former Liverpool star Xherdan Shaqiri in the box, his attempted clearance struck team-mate Philip Otele and dropped into the path of the lurking Guessand.
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The Ivory Coast forward pounced instantly and stabbed a neat finish into the corner on the turn.
While the £26million summer signing from Nice has yet to score in the Premier League, this was his second strike in Europe, having netted at Go Ahead Eagles in October when Villa suffered their only loss in the competition.
It was a happy return to Switzerland for Guessand, who had a loan spell at Lausanne-Sport in 2020.
And so too for Emery, who won the third of his four Europa League titles as a manager in Basel when former club Sevilla upset Liverpool 3-1 in 2016.
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He will fancy his chances of a fifth, but his side were made to suffer against the hosts after going ahead.
Leo Leroy was unlucky in the 28th minute when he leathered a low drive into the corner, but the effort was ruled for a marginal offside against Dominik Schmid in the build-up.
But Basel deservedly levelled six minutes later.
Villa keeper Marco Bizot did not conduct his defence well as he hesitated to meet a whipped, curling Shaqiri free-kick into the box and was beaten by the outstretched boot of Daniliuc.
Villa were sloppy and almost punished again before the break by a Basel side that had won seven successive Europa League games at home.
Shaqiri, who has 63 goal contributions in 64 games for the club, showed off his silky skills again to pick out former Sheffield United frontman Benie Traore.
But Bizot smothered the finish and an offside flag went up.
Emery sent on Tielemans for Cash at the start of the second half and the move worked a treat as he swept a low finish past Marwin Hitz after being teed up by Emi Buendia.
Guessand blazed another good chance wide, but Villa kept their advantage to leave Federer forlorn.
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