Aston Villa has returned to top-tier European competition after 41 years away with a 3-0 win over Swiss club Young Boys.

Aston Villa have waited over 40 years to operate on this grand stage and delivered the swagger of Champions League veterans in a fitting tribute to their golden boy Gary Shaw. Villa will face far tougher tests ahead but this was a fine return to Europe’s elite competition,

Gary Shaw, an Aston Villa legend and one of the club’s celebrated European Cup winners, has died at the age of 63. Villa confirmed in a statement released on behalf of his family that Shaw had passed away earlier on Monday. It was reported last week that Shaw was in a serious condition in hospital after falling and sustaining a head injury.