Nicolas Jackson double gives Aston Villa commanding lead against Fenerbahce

Aston Villa were 3-0 ahead at half-time against Fenerbahce on Wednesday as Nicolas Jackson scored twice in the second matchday of the UEFA Champions League league phase.

Johan Manzambi opened the scoring after 12 minutes, reacting quickest when Fenerbahce failed to clear a corner. His effort took a deflection off Milan Skriniar before finding the net.

Fenerbahce responded positively to falling behind and created several clear chances. Vedat Muriqi was denied twice by the Aston Villa goalkeeper, while Oguz Ayd?n struck the crossbar in the 34th minute.

However, Aston Villa made the most of mistakes in the Turkish side’s build-up play. Boubacar Kamara won possession in midfield in the 31st minute and released Nicolas Jackson, who doubled the visitors’ advantage with a powerful right-footed finish.

The Senegalese forward struck again eight minutes later. After linking up with Ross Barkley, Jackson found the bottom-left corner with another well-placed shot to complete his double.

The two goals maintain Jackson’s strong run of form and leave Aston Villa in a commanding position at the interval. Fenerbahce must improve both defensively and in front of goal if they are to recover in the second half.