Pre-Season Friendly: Aston Villa 3 Malaga 2

Christian Benteke scored twice as Aston Villa recorded a 3-2 victory over Malaga in a friendly at Villa Park on Saturday.

Paul Lambert’s men concluded their pre-season campaign with a solid if unspectacular display, as Belgian striker Benteke, who last month withdrew a transfer request, underlined his importance to the side with a classy double.

Ron Vlaar also got in on the act, while Jores Okore’s own goal and Sergi Darder’s deflected strike gave the visitors some reward for their efforts.

Benteke, who scored 23 goals last term, continued his fine pre-season form to open the scoring after 12 minutes, powering past two defenders before rounding the goalkeeper and rolling home.

The hosts doubled their advantage midway through the opening half as Vlaar headed in Aleksandar Tonev’s inswinging corner.

And they asserted their dominance on the half-hour mark after Benteke was sent tumbling in the box by Marcos Angeleri before picking himself up to score from the subsequent penalty.

Malaga pulled one back before half-time when Okore, attempting to clear Bartlomiej Pawlowski’s delivery, forced the ball into his own net.

There was more purpose about the visitors after the break and Pawlowski went close to further reducing the deficit but saw his 60th-minute effort strike the post.

Undeterred, they pressed again and got themselves back into the game as Darder tried his luck from the edge of the box and saw his shot loop in off Karim El Ahmadi.

Lambert made a raft of changes late on, a move that not only refreshed the hosts but also took the wind out of Malaga’s sails, ensuring a narrow win for Villa.