BRUGES, Belgium (AP) — The first goal of the Champions League season was scored by Aston Villa captain John McGinn entering the 11th minute at Club Brugge on Tuesday.
That record rate last season of 3.47 goals was already beaten by halftime in Belgium as Villa led 3-1.
The first came when McGinn placed a curling left-footed shot beyond Brugge goalkeeper Yann Sommer diving to this right and the ball nestled just inside the post.
Villa scored early after three straight games without a goal to start the Premier League season.
Brugge leveled in the 19th with a sweeping, low left-footed shot by Hugo Vetlesen.
Villa regained the lead through Emi Buendia with a close-range finish, and Nicolas Jackson added a third in the 43rd into an empty net. He had reached a long pass ahead of Sommer, who had left his penalty area trying to clear the ball.
Brugge is hosting Villa and AEK Athens is hosting LASK in the early kickoffs as the first of the 189 scheduled games in the competition. The Greek champion led 1-0 at halftime.
There were 655 goals scored in last season’s edition. That rate (3.47) was not reached since the 1960s in the old European Cup knockout format.
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