Legia Warszawa 3-2 Aston Villa

Despite coming from behind twice, Aston Villa lost out to Legia Warszawa in the Europa Conference League on Thursday night.

A frenetic opening to the match saw both sides score inside the first six minutes, with Jhon Durán cancelling out Pawel Wszolek’s goal.

Ernest Muçi made it 2-1 on 26 minutes before the visitors fought back once again to equalise via Lucas Digne.

Warszawa forged ahead in the opening stages of the second half courtesy of Muçi’s second of the evening, and Villa were unable to take advantage of late chances for Jacob Ramsey and Moussa Diaby as they slipped to defeat in Poland.

The Villans will aim to bounce back when they take on Zrinjski Mostar in their second Group E match in October.

Clément Lenglet, who came in for his debut, was one of five changes to the starting XI as Unai Emery shuffled his pack after Saturday’s rousing comeback against Crystal Palace.

And the Villans knew they’d have to come from behind once again when the hosts struck first with less than three minutes on the clock.

Patryk Kun advanced down the left-hand side before sending in a low cross to the back post, where Wszolek stole a march on Digne and fired past Emi Martinez.

The home crowd erupted but they were silenced soon after when Durán was left to head the ball into an empty net from close range following Nicoló Zaniolo’s piledriver, which had been tipped onto the bar.

After the frenzied start, the match settled into a rhythm as the visitors began to dominate possession without being able to find a way to further trouble goalkeeper Kacper Tobiasz.

And it was Legia who found a way to goal after 26 minutes – in similar fashion to their first – when Muçi applied the finishing touches to Wszolek’s cross.

Villa were once again tasked with finding a response, and they managed to summon one via the left foot of Digne, whose half-volley nestled in the top corner after the ball fell to him following a corner.

And the away side would have been heading back to the changing rooms ahead at the break had Tobiasz not pulled off a stunning save to deny Duran.

The second half began at a more sedate pace to the first, but it quickly burst into life when Muçi bagged his second of the night after 52 minutes.

Having advanced inside the box, the Albanian dragged a shot across Martinez and saw it creep inside the far past after the goalkeeper’s outstretched hand was unable to divert it wide.

Emery called upon Douglas Luiz, Diaby and Ollie Watkins on the hour mark, but it didn’t spark a change in fortunes initially as Legia came close to netting a fourth.

Martinez kept his side in the game with a superb double save, adjusting quickly to parry a deflected long-range effort before blocking Marc Gual’s follow-up.

Polish international Matty Cash and Ramsey, who came on for his first appearance of the season, were introduced, and the pair played their part as Villa hunted a leveller.

The latter saw a great chance go begging when the ball ricocheted into his path in the final five minutes, driving his shot a yard wide of the post.

Moments later, Tobiasz used his feet to keep out Diaby's shot when the Frenchman had been put through one-on-one, snuffing out the visitors' hopes of taking something from the game.