Donyell Malen has broken his silence after being struck on the head by an object that was thrown from the away end during Thursday's Europa League clash between Aston Villa and Young Boys.
It was an eventful night at Villa Park. After scoring a first-half opener, Malen was targeted by the Young Boys away end while celebrating.
Malen walked away with a nasty cut to his head and carried on playing, but things escalated in the 42nd minute, when he decided to perform a knee slide right in front of the Young Boys fans after scoring his second.
Soon, the match was temporarily suspended for five-and-a-half minutes after objects were again thrown at the winger. Morgan Rogers was also hit by a missile and checked his stomach for an injury.
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The visiting supporters continued to become more irate and ripped out seats before hurling them at stewards and policemen, who stepped in to tackle and detain members who were causing trouble.
Young Boys captain Loris Benito could also be seen asking the away fans to calm down as the referee briefly halted the game.
Speaking after the full-time whistle, Young Boys manager Gerardo Seoane apologised for the scenes. "Maybe it was a small provocation [Malen]. That's how our fans took it," he said.
"They shouldn't react so heavily. Our captain went to calm them. The police reacted. It was a pity for everybody. We apologise. It's not how we want to behave as guests."
Aston Villa boss Unai Emery also touched on the incident, confirming that Malen did not need stitches. "I think he is OK," he added.
Malen himself then took to Instagram to post his reaction to Villa's 2-1 win over their Swiss opponents.
As well as posting four pictures from the game, he used the caption: "Nice kick about with some young boys" – a caption that brought plenty of reaction from fans online.
One wrote: "Tutorial: how to own a club with one line," while a second commented: "You've won the internet today bro with this caption Donyell! Hahaha! Brilliant stuff."
A third said: "Caption is crazy," and a fourth added: "Massive respect for not milking the blow to the head. Great composure. I'm buying you in FPL so please make sure you start Sunday."
Donyell Malen opens up on performance against Young Boys
The 26-year-old winger, who joined Villa from Borussia Dortmund in January, has scored four goals in his last two Europa League games, as well as six goals in all competitions so far this season.
Speaking in his post-match interview, Malen gave a brief overview of the game against Young Boys.
“I feel good,” he said. “As a team, we played well, we created a lot of opportunities. I should have scored probably two more if I’m really honest, but it’s a good feeling.
“We had to be focused. They’re not a bad team, and we had to do what we can do, and I think we did. We created a lot of chances first half and even second half to get a bigger score."
Malen added: “We have to go game by game. Of course, Premier League is a big competition, but this is also a very big competition for us.”
Topics: Aston Villa, Europa League
Jack Kenmare