Aston Villa moved closer to the semi-finals of the UEFA Europa League after securing a hard-fought 3–1 victory over Bologna FC in Thursday’s quarter-final first leg.
A header from Ezri Konsa just before half-time and a brace from Ollie Watkins gave the Premier League side a commanding advantage heading into next week’s return leg in Birmingham.
The win keeps Villa on track for their first major trophy since lifting the Football League Cup three decades ago.
Villa could face either FC Porto or Nottingham Forest in the semi-finals if they complete the job against Bologna in the second leg.
Despite the defeat, the Italian side remain in contention thanks to a superb late strike from Jonathan Rowe that gave the home supporters hope before the decisive clash in England.
Villa manager Unai Emery, a four-time winner of the Europa League, now has his team firmly in the driving seat following Watkins’ late second goal that sealed the win.
“Just before half-time is a great time to score. We got the second after half-time and then we felt we always were going to score more,” Watkins told TNT Sports after the match.
“Back end of the season I’m raring to go. I could play another 90 minutes. I’m excited for the next few games. I’m hungry.”
Villa’s victory continues a dominant run against Bologna, having beaten the Italian club three times across the past two seasons, including twice in this year’s Europa League campaign.
However, Bologna showed plenty of attacking threat and could count themselves unlucky not to take more from the match. The hosts struck the woodwork twice and saw an early own goal by Konsa ruled out for offside after Santiago Castro was judged to have strayed marginally ahead of the defence.
Moments later, Bologna midfielder Lewis Ferguson came close when he poked a shot onto the underside of the crossbar following a dangerous run down the flank by Rowe.
Villa eventually broke the deadlock just before the interval when Konsa rose highest to meet a corner from Youri Tielemans. The Belgian midfielder was making his first start since January, and his delivery was mishandled by Bologna goalkeeper Federico Ravaglia, allowing Konsa to score his first club goal since May.
Villa extended their advantage five minutes after the restart when Watkins capitalised on a defensive error from Torbjorn Heggem, calmly slotting the ball between Ravaglia’s legs.
Bologna continued to push for a response, with Federico Bernardeschi striking the outside of the post as the Italian side searched for a breakthrough.
Their persistence paid off in the 90th minute when Rowe curled home a fine effort to reduce the deficit and revive hopes for the second leg.
But those hopes were quickly dampened deep into stoppage time as Watkins finished from close range following a corner to restore Villa’s two-goal advantage and leave Emery’s men in a strong position ahead of the return fixture.
