Aston Villa have a real chance of once again finishing in the top eight of the Champions League this season

Aston Villa maintained their perfect start to their Champions League campaign, beating Viking FK 3-1 at Villa Park.

Ross Barkley opened the scoring in the first half, heading in Ibrahim Mbaye’s corner in a goal that was almost a carbon copy of the one he scored against Coventry City in the Carabao Cup.

Emi Buendia then scored from the penalty spot after Alysson was tripped by Zlatko Tripic, before a cross from Villa’s Brazilian winger was turned into his own net by Henrik Heggheim on the hour mark.

Villa were top of the league phase table until Peter Christiansen scored a consolation goal for Viking, giving the travelling Norwegian fans something to cheer.

Unai Emery’s side can now head to Barcelona with little pressure to get a result against the Spanish giants in their next game, having become one of just five teams to win their first three matches in the league phase.

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Villa also won their first three Champions League games two seasons ago, beating BSC Young Boys, Bayern Munich and Bologna. That season, Villa finished in the top eight and recorded 16 points.

Last season, Manchester City also finished eighth in the league phase with 16 points. For Villa, that means they are just two more wins and a draw away from reaching the 16-point mark again.

Away games against Barcelona and Galatasaray, followed by a home fixture against Paris Saint-Germain, represent three very difficult challenges for Villa. However, the trip to Turkey could present an opportunity to pick up a result.

Considering Villa have won 20 of the 22 home games they have played in Europe under Emery, you can’t rule them out avoiding defeat against PSG at Villa Park, either.

However, it is the final two matches of their league phase campaign that Villa will be targeting for wins. Borussia Dortmund are a strong team, but they will have to travel to Villa Park in January, a week before Villa head to Slavia Praha.

A draw against Galatasaray, defeats to Barcelona and PSG, followed by wins against Dortmund and Slavia Praha, would see Villa reach 16 points. That is just one example of how they could achieve that total.