Aston Villa mourns a club great and wins on its return to Europe's top tier after 41 years

 Aston Villa did it for Gary Shaw, and in some style.

Villa returned to top-tier European competition after 41 years away with a 3-0 win over Swiss club Young Boys. It was a day after death of club great Shaw, a forward who won 1982 European Cup with Villa.

Villa's players wore black armbands to remember Shaw and coach Unai Emery had said before Champions League game in Switzerland that any win would be dedicated to Shaw.

“We have a memory always, in our training ground a picture of 1982 and European Cup, he was a protagonist of that," Emery said Monday. “Yes, I think it’s sad and we can use it as motivation.”

Shaw was only 21 and a rising star of English soccer when he won European Cup but his career never recovered from a serious knee injury a year later. He died Monday at of 63.

Birmingham club had t played in Europe's premier competition since 1983-84 season, when it lost in quarterfinals to Juventus while trying to defend trophy it won season before.

Emery was coaching a team in Champions League for first time since Villarreal's semifinal loss to Liverpool in May 2022. Since arriving at Villa, Emery has transformed a team that finished 14th in Premier League before his arrival into one capable of keeping up with England's best.

Youri Tielemans and Jacob Ramsey scored for Villa in first half. Amadou Onana scored from a long-range shot in 86th.

England forward Ollie Watkins was seen with ice on his ankle after being substituted in 60th minute.