MONACO, France (Reuters) -AS Monaco edged out Aston Villa 1-0 at home in the Champions League on Tuesday with an early goal from Wilfried Singo as the Ligue 1 side secured their first victory of the year.
Monaco snapped a four-game winless run in all competitions and are amongst the seeded playoff spots in the 36-team Champions League table with 13 points.
Villa, who were unbeaten in their last five matches across all competitions, also have 13 points with a top-eight finish now in jeopardy.
Monaco took the lead after eight minutes as Singo headed in from close range after goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez made a fine save to keep out Thilo Kehrer’s initial header from a corner.
The visitors withstood Monaco’s pressure and enjoyed more possession before the break but Monaco keeper Radoslaw Majecki kept out efforts from Leon Bailey and Ollie Watkins.
The start of the second half saw chances for both sides, with Villa’s Morgan Rogers firing just wide and Monaco’s Maghnes Akliouche having an effort ruled out for offside.
Villa manager Unai Emery sought to spark some life into his attack with the introduction of Jhon Duran but they could not breach a solid Monaco backline as Matty Cash pulled a shot wide.
“It was my mistake when we played with two strikers because we lost positioning,” Villa boss Emery said. “We lost control of the game. We were very weak in the middle.
“We were horrible in set-pieces, we were horrible. We had seven corners and not one close to scoring.
“It was important to get three points because I think we lost the opportunity to get in the top eight. Today was the key.”
Villa will host Celtic in their final Champions League first phase match next Wednesday.
(Reporting by Janina Nuno Rios in Mexico City; Editing by Toby Davis and Ken Ferris)
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