Half-time postbag. “Our Belgian commentators saw what was happening for that first goal way before the camera operator did. And whilst I was thinking what a waste of a corner. Just goes to show how much some of us underestimate Emery and Villa” – Paulo Biriani

“Bit of a tough pill to swallow, conceding two goals just before the break, but Schuster and the Freiburg players should be pleased with the performance if not the scoreline. Worth keeping in mind that they have players such as Grifo and Manzambi who are capable of producing moments of magic just like Tielemans and Buendia. Still another 45 and a lot can happen!” – Daniel Halladay

“Mention of last year’s Villa-Bayern CL group match reminds me that I haven’t heard about Jhon Duran in a while. His sale and Douglas Luiz the year before look like Villa getting peak value” – G Salorio

“Arsenal fans can look on this game with benign sporting interest, happy to let the better team win and so on, an even willing to ignore the presence of Emi Martinez. But the neutral’s mind does wander. I note, for example, that in Matty Cash, Villa have probably the only English player whose spoonerism would work as a marketing name for feline cat food” – Charles Antaki