Unai Emery's side opened the scoring inside just four minutes, as Jadon Sancho's parried cross fell into the path of Evann Guessand, who shinned it past Jari De Busser. 

The Dutch side restored parity just before the break, as a well-worked free-kick routine dropped to Mathis Suray, whose resulting effort took a deflection off Pau Torres, before looping over a helpless Emiliano Martinez. 

After the interval, the host stunned Villa, as a straightforward ball over the top from Joris Kramer found captain Mats Deijl unmarked in the box, who picked his spot, gifting his side an unlikely lead. 

However, Villa's pressure eventually paid, and in the 76th minute they were awarded a penalty, after Dean James handled the ball inside Go Ahead's box.

Yet, the defender's blushes were spared when the in-form Emiliano Buendia sent the subsequent spot-kick blazing over the crossbar, with Villa unable to find an equaliser from there on.

This was Villa's first defeat to a Dutch opponent in European competition, having gone unbeaten in all six of its previous major continental matches against sides from the Netherlands before the game. 

The result also marked Villa's third defeat in 16 European group stage matches (W11 D2), conceding for the first time in this season's competition.  

Despite recording its lowest number of shots in a Europa League match this season (five), Go Ahead Eagles were clinical in front of goal, as they netted twice, earning back-to-back victories in Europe (including qualifiers) for the first time in their history.