Aston Villa 3-2 Athletic Club Bilbao

Cameron Archer netted a late winner as Aston Villa overcame Athletic Club Bilbao at Poundland Bescot Stadium on Wednesday night.

The striker raced onto a long ball and rounded the goalkeeper before slotting home to earn the win in an entertaining five-goal clash.

Jacob Ramsey nutmegged Álex Padilla to cap a fine move and give his side the lead with just four minutes on the clock.

Bilbao struck back midway through the first half via Yeray Álvarez before Jaden Philogene put Villa in front once again on the hour mark.

A tidy finish from Gorka Guruzeta looked to have earned a draw for the Spanish side, but Archer had the last word in Villa’s penultimate pre-season outing.

Returning to action in the UK after their three-game tour of the USA, Villa faced a Bilbao team who finished fifth in La Liga and won the Copa del Rey last season.

And the hosts set about their guests from the off, taking the lead in the fourth minute after a scintillating move.

Pau Torres’ purposeful pass was set back to Youri Tielemans by Morgan Rogers, and after the Belgian played a through ball to Ramsey, the midfielder slid a shot through the legs of Padilla.

Bilbao spurned a glorious chance to level when Oihan Sancet fired over the bar, with the same player denied by a smart stop from Joe Gauci moments later.

Rogers was next to miss the target after a fine burst down the right from Leon Bailey, with the miss proving costly when Álvarez levelled on 26 minutes.

The defender was in the right place to pick up a loose ball in the box, placing a shot beyond the grasp of Gauci.

Tielemans and Matty Cash tested Padilla as the half drew to a close with the sides heading in all square.

Philogene was one of three Villa changes at the break, and minutes after the restart he showed a burst of speed before teeing up Bailey, who drilled an effort wide.

The homegrown winger made no mistake when he had a sight of goal on the hour mark, slotting a shot into the bottom corner following a neat flick from Rogers.

Samuel Iling Jr and Kosta Nedeljkovic fired efforts on target as Villa looked to extend their advantage, but they were pegged back once again as the game moved into the final 20 minutes.

A low cross from Iñaki Williams was turned home first time by Guruzeta, who angled a shot beyond Oliwier Zych.

Ross Barkley showed off his talents with a driving run from inside his own half, carrying the ball to the edge of Athletic’s box and laying it off to Iling Jr before the winger saw a drilled shot tipped over.

Archer’s searing speed had caused a number of problems for the La Liga side’s defence in the closing stages, and he raced onto a long ball before rounding the ‘keeper and cutting a shot back into the net to snatch victory for Villa.

Aston Villa: Gauci (Zych 45’), Cash (Nedeljković 45’), Bogarde, Torres (Swinkels 61’), Digne (Maatsen 61’), Onana (Dendoncker 61’), Tielemans (Barkley 61’), Bailey (Iling Jr 61’), McGinn (Buendia 61’), Ramsey (Philogene 45’), Rogers (Archer 61’).

Unused subs: Wright, Moreno.