Marc Albrighton was spotted in the Aston Villa away end during their Champions League tie against Club Brugge. The 35-year-old Tamworth-born former midfielder made 101 appearances for Villa at the start of his career - before moving on to endure a successful decade at Leicester City.
But since retiring from professional football last summer, Albrighton has been often seen watching Villa. And he was one of the 2000-plus Villa fans that made the trip to Bruges on Tuesday evening.
After he was pictured in the city - alongside several Villa fans - Albrighton made his way to Jan Breydel Stadium and he was part of the travelling contingent in the away end. Albrighton posted a Instagram story confirming he was there, with the caption: "Been here before," alongside an eyes emoji with his location on.
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Albrighton has history in Bruges, too. He scored Leicester's first-ever Champions League goal against the Belgium team in a 3-0 win for the Foxes in September 2016. After a long throw failed to be cleared, Albrighton steered the ball home first time on the volley to give Claudio Ranieri's side the lead.
During his time with Leicester, Albrighton famously won the Premier League in 2016, as well the FA Cup and other honours. He scored 19 goals and added 48 assists in 313 appearances for the Foxes before confirming his retirement in August. His final appearance came on the final day of the 2023/2024 Championship season.
However, Albrighton's senior career started back at Villa and he made his first-team competitive debut in a UEFA Cup match against CSKA Moscow in February 2009. He went on to play more than 100 times for his boyhood club, scoring important goals, including the Premier League's 20,000th.
Albrighton netted that landmark strike against Arsenal back in December 2011. He donated the money to Acorns Children's Hospice in the west Midlands. In total, Albrighton scored nine times for Villa before leaving the club to make the switch to Leicester on a free transfer.
As for Villa's trip to Bruges, Unai Emery's side ended up running away with a 3-1 victory. Leon Bailey gave Villa the lead in the third minute, but they were pegged back as Maxim De Cuyper equalised for the hosts.
But Villa scored twice within the final 10 minutes to get the job done on the night. Brandon Mechele put the ball through his own net, before Marco Asensio netted from the penalty spot after Matty Cash was tripped.
