Who are Viking FK? Aston Villa face Norway’s champions after six-goal draw with Bayern Munich

Two head coaches have helped Viking end a 34-year wait for the Norwegian title. Now a club with a famous Chelsea scalp is looking to trouble another English side.

Viking FK were playing in Norway’s second tier eight years ago. Tonight, they arrive at Villa Park having just held Bayern Munich to a 3-3 draw.

The Norwegian champions face Aston Villa in their third Champions League league-phase match, with their first point secured and a result that gives Unai Emery plenty to consider.

Viking led Bayern by two goals, fell behind and still found an equaliser. Their opponents made mistakes, but the home side were good enough to punish them.

There is considerably more to their story than one memorable European night.

Who are Viking FK?

Based in Stavanger, in south-west Norway, Viking were founded in 1899 and have won nine league titles.

Four came in succession between 1972 and 1975. Their most recent championship, in 2025, ended a wait stretching back to 1991.

That success followed a recovery from relegation in 2017. Bjarne Berntsen led Viking back into the top flight at the first attempt in 2018, with Bjarte Lunde Aarsheim and Morten Jensen among his coaching staff.

Those two now share the head coach’s job.

They have held joint responsibility since the 2021 season and signed contracts through to the end of 2028 in November 2024. By then, Viking were sufficiently convinced by their progress to commit to another four years.

The explanation accompanying that contract announcement was revealing. The club highlighted attacking football, the emergence of local players and the ability to combine player sales with improving results.

Winning the league the following year gave that approach its strongest endorsement.

A 5-3 aggregate victory over Dinamo Zagreb then secured their place in this season’s Champions League league phase.

The Chelsea hero helping run the club

English supporters may remember Viking for what happened to Chelsea in October 2002.

Claudio Ranieri’s side travelled to Stavanger with a 2-1 first-leg lead in the UEFA Cup. They lost the return 4-2 and went out 5-4 on aggregate.

Frank Lampard and John Terry both scored for Chelsea. Erik Nevland scored twice for Viking, including the late goal that settled the tie.

The former Manchester United and Fulham forward is now Viking’s sporting director. His connection to the club’s European ambitions therefore stretches from finishing chances on the pitch to helping build the team off it.

“We’re all living a dream in our club at the moment,” Nevland told The Times ahead of the Villa match.

There is understandable excitement about the opposition. The Bayern game also showed Viking have something to offer once the occasion gives way to the football.

What Villa can learn from the Bayern draw

Viking’s first two goals against Bayern came through different routes.

Gianni Stensness headed in a corner inside two minutes. Peter Christiansen then ran clear on the counter-attack to double the lead before half-time.

For Villa, the warning is straightforward: control of possession will count for little if they leave themselves exposed when an attack breaks down. Concentration at defensive set pieces will matter just as much.

Captain Zlatko Tripić supplied the deliveries for both Stensness’s opener and Herman Haugen’s late equaliser. The 33-year-old also provides another connection to the rebuild, having first joined Viking during their 2018 promotion season.

There are vulnerabilities for Villa to exploit, too.

Harry Kane scored twice before Luis Díaz put Bayern 3-2 ahead. Michael Olise’s subsequent dismissal helped Viking’s pursuit of an equaliser, which Haugen delivered with a 90th-minute header.

That context matters. The draw demonstrated Viking’s threat and persistence, while also showing how quickly a stronger opponent could take the game away from them.

Lunde Aarsheim acknowledged that his side needed to improve their defensive transitions. He also singled out their response to losing the lead.

“What impressed me was the mentality and hunger of our players,” he said in post-match comments published by Bayern.

Viking followed that result with a 3-2 victory over Fredrikstad on Saturday, their fourth successive league win. They have scored 16 goals across those four matches.

For Emery, the task is to make Viking defend without giving their forwards room to break into. Bayern found enough chances to recover from two goals down; they also gave Viking enough opportunities to leave with a point.

Aston Villa vs Viking kicks off at 8pm BST on Wednesday 21 October. Our match guide has the UK television and streaming details.