Columbus Crew 4-1 Aston Villa

Emi Buendía made his first appearance for 11 months as Aston Villa opened their USA pre-season tour with a 4-1 defeat against the Columbus Crew.

The Argentinian attacking midfielder, having recovered from a knee ligament injury sustained last summer, stepped off the bench just after the hour mark at Lower.com Field.

Amadou Onana and Ian Maatsen were also introduced in the second half for their debuts, as Villa continued their 2024/25 preparations and got more valuable minutes under their belts against the reigning MLS Cup Champions in Ohio.

The Villans, who used a total of 22 players, were undone by Cucho Hernandez’s first-half hat-trick, while Cameron Archer found the net for the visitors.

Crew substitute Dylan Chambost added a fourth immediately after the break, with Unai Emery’s side next in action against RB Leipzig in New Jersey on Wednesday.

Joe Gauci was named in Emery’s XI for the encounter against the Crew, with the likes of Pau Torres, Ross Barkley, Morgan Rogers and Leon Bailey also starting.

Villa dominated possession in the opening exchanges and posed a threat in the final third albeit without really testing Crew ‘keeper Nicolas Hagen.

But it was the hosts who opened the scoring in the 14^th minute as Cucho picked up Christian Ramirez’s ball into the area and finished into the far corner from 12 yards.

The Crew should have doubled their advantage six minutes later but an unmarked Ramirez sliced off target.

Rogers tested Hagen just after the half-hour mark before Archer, through on goal, was denied by the Crew stopper as he looked to round him.

Yet it was the home side who doubled their advantage in the 39^th minute as Cucho latched on to Diego Rossi’s throughball and applied a dinked finish to beat Gauci.

Archer responded in the perfect fashion, creating space in the area and applying a well-taken finish into the roof of the net having been found by Bailey.

But the Crew immediately restored their two-goal advantage courtesy of Cucho’s hat-trick as he latched on to another ball over the top, turned neatly and slotted into the corner.

Oliwier Zych, Matty Cash, Diego Carlos, Lucas Digne and Jaden Philogene were all introduced all the break.

But it was the Crew who added a fourth within minutes of the restart following a defensive mix-up, with Zych parrying well from Jacen Russell-Rowe before Chambost converted the rebound.

Russell-Rowe almost added a fifth as he slotted narrowly wide, with the visitors making a further six changes just after the hour.

It saw Buendía introduced into the fold, Onana and Maatsen make their maiden appearances in claret and blue, while Kaine Kesler Hayden, Leander Dendoncker and Lewis Dobbin also featured.

Villa pressed for further reward from the encounter and enjoyed a couple of half-chances but, following successive victories over Walsall and Spartak Trnava, fell to their first defeat of pre-season.

Aston Villa: Gauci (Zych 46), Nedeljković (Cash 46), Feeney (Carlos 46), Torres (Digne 46), Moreno (Maatsen 63), Bailey (Kesler Hayden 63), Barkley (Dendoncker 63), Barrenechea (Onana 63), Iling Jr (Philogene 46), Rogers (Buendía 63), Archer (Dobbin 63).

Subs: Wright, Bogarde.