Aston Villa star Marco Asensio instantly creates unique piece of Champions League history.

Marco Asensio has become the first player in Champions League history to appear 50 times as a substitute.

And the 29-year-old had an almost immediate impact, scoring to help Aston Villa defeat Club Brugge 3-1 in their last-16 first leg match in Belgium on Tuesday evening.

Unai Emery surprised by leaving Asensio on the bench, but he came on in the 64th minute as the Villans drew 1-1 at the Jan Breydel Stadium. Brandon Mechele scored an own goal in the 82nd minute, restoring the visitors’ lead after Maxim De Cuyper cancelled out Leon Bailey’s early opener. And, in the 88th minute, Asensio secured Villa’s victory with a penalty shot into the bottom left corner, his fifth goal for the club. His participation off the bench saw him become the first player in European Cup history to make a half-century of appearances from the bench.

This is his first appearance for Villa in Europe’s top competition since joining on loan from Paris Saint-Germain in February. In total, the Spaniard has appeared in 70 Champions League matches. That means he’s only made 20 starts in the tournament since his debut in 2016/17. He ended up winning the competition that season, scoring in the final as Real Madrid defeated Juventus 4-1 at Cardiff. However, as was often the case during his tenure with Los Blancos, he made his appearance at the Principality Stadium from the bench.

In fact, from his 59 Champions League matches for Real, he was named amongst the substitutes on 42 occasions.

Despite his paucity of starts, he won the title three times, including in the 2017 and 2018 finals. Moving to PSG in 2023, his Champions League game time did not increase. In only three of his 10 appearances for Les Parisiens in Europe did he make Luis Enrique’s starting XI. And he’ll be hoping it’s not the same story at Villa, as the playmaker hopes to start in his side’s second leg against the Midlands next week. Since joining Villa in the winter transfer window, Asensio has become an instant fan favourite. In seven outings across all competitions, he has now scored five goals.

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