Prince William watches his beloved Aston Villa score last-minute winner on historic night

Tonight's historic match marked the first time Aston Villa played European group-stage football at Villa Park in 13 years.

The match was against HSK Zrinjski Mostar, and Aston Villa won 1-0, much to Prince William's delight.

The prince is a longtime supporter of Aston Villa, and he explained his reasons why eight years ago.

Ahead of Villa's FA Cup defeat to Arsenal in May 2015, William explained his Villa support to Gary Linker.

William said: “A long time ago at school I got into football big time. I was looking around for clubs.

“All my friends at school were either Man United fans or Chelsea fans and I didn’t want to follow the run-of-the-mill teams.

“I wanted to have a team that was more mid-table that could give me more emotional rollercoaster moments.

“Aston Villa’s always had a great history. I have got friends of mine who support Aston Villa and one of the first FA Cup games I went to was Bolton vs. Aston Villa back in 2000.

“Sadly, Villa went on to lose to Chelsea.

“It was fantastic, I sat with all the fans with my red beanie on, and I was sat with all the Brummie fans and had a great time.

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“It was the atmosphere, the camaraderie and I really felt that there was something I could connect with.”

Speaking in February 2020, the Prince of Wales commented: “People like Paul Merson were playing and I thought if people like him can play as well as he does, knowing the struggles he was under at the time...this is a club I can support.

“I was also born in ‘82, the year we won the (European) Cup, so I feel the history and pedigree around Villa has always been quite close to me.”