Tielemans: We’re really excited to get going

Youri Tielemans has spoken of his excitement at competing in the UEFA Champions League with Aston Villa and the importance of making a good start in the competition.

Villa face BSC Young Boys at Stadion Wankdorf on Tuesday evening, with the eagerly-awaited encounter the club’s first among Europe’s elite for 41 years.

Unai Emery’s side will be determined to get their league phase campaign off to a good start in Bern, Switzerland.

And midfielder Tielemans cannot wait for what will be a momentous occasion for Villa.

“Obviously very happy,” he told the pre-match media conference about his feelings ahead of the fixture.

“We achieved something really good last year, finishing fourth in the Premier League and now we’re here playing in the Champions League.

“So, first game for us, and we’re really excited to get going in this competition.”

Asked about the importance of making a good start, Tielemans added: “Yeah, definitely.

“We’ve got some really big games away and at home, tomorrow is going to be the start of it.

“With this new format now, every game is really important with the points system.

“Like I said, we want to make the most of it and hopefully we can get a win here but it’s going to be very difficult.”

This year represents the first season for the new format of the Champions League, with each team facing eight matches in the league phase.

Villa head into matchday one having gained plenty of European experience in reaching the semi-finals of the Europa Conference League last term.

And Tielemans, who has played in the Champions League previously with Monaco and Anderlecht, feels Villa will benefit from last season’s campaign across the continent.

“We’ve got some experience from Europe last year and it’s going to be even tougher this year being in the biggest European club competition,” said the Belgium international.

“We’re going to have to do even better than what we did last year.

“Missing out on the final was a tough experience but I think a good one for the group to understand what we have to do better this year.

“Hopefully we can learn from that.”