Aston Villa conducted business professionally with a 4-0 triumph over **Bologna**in the second leg of their Europa League quarter-final, living up to the billing as one of the favourites for the trophy.
Though they had to suffer for stages in their trip to Italy, the Villans had registered a vital last-minute goal to grab a buffer of two strikes last Thursday through a 3-1 win. The odds were in their favour against an outfit whom they had beaten three times in 18 months, and the outcome was as expected.
Ollie Watkins and Morgan Rogers registered significant strikes in their seasons, sandwiching a successful shot from Emiliano Buendia to put the team 3-0 ahead before the end of the first half. Ezri Konsa capped off a perfect night for the Villans, who sent a statement to their competitors.
Story of the Match
Unai Emery elected not to disturb the formula that worked in the first leg. Emiliano Martinez missed weekend action against Nottingham Forest with a knock, but he returned to replace Marco Bizot. Matty Cash, Ezri Konsa, Pau Torres, and Lucas Digne defended in the back four. A Belgian pairing of Youri Tielemans and Amadou Onana operated in the double pivot, flanked by **Emiliano Buendia**and John McGinn. **Morgan Rogers**remained in attacking midfield behind Ollie Watkins.
Vincenzo Italiano made two changes to the lineup from last week. Nicolo Casale came in for the suspended **Jhon Lucumi**while Martin Vitik displaced Torbjorn Heggem in central defence. Juan Miranda and Joao Mario maintained their roles as fullbacks. Remo Freuler, Nikola Moro, and **Lewis Ferguson**filled the three midfield slots. The frontline included Federico Bernardeschi, Santiago Castro, and Jonathan Rowe, who have collectively scored 11 goals in the tournament.
It was a scrappy start to this showdown as fouls fudged with the rhythm of the action. Both sides knew that the tie hung in the balance, and momentum could shift massively with the opening goal.
A pivotal part of the puzzle under Emery has been the willingness to take risks to go through the centre of the pitch and pierce through opponents directly. As the 15-minute mark hit, the hosts went through the gears. Rogers rode forwards, stopping the ball for Tielemans to take the charge. He found Buendia, who immediately bounced the ball back for Rogers. The two attackers combined once more, and Rogers ran into the penalty area, slipping across a cutback for Watkins to open the scoring.
It was a memorable goal for the striker, who is now the 12th player in the history of Villa to notch 100 goals and also the first to fire home ten strikes in major continental competitions for the club. But more to the point, any nerves had been quickly calmed as the team took a big step towards their target.
The Villans sensed blood, and when Rogers headed the ball onto the outstretched arm of Vitik, he was gifted the opportunity to double the advantage on the evening. A successful strike from twelve yards would have tied up the tie completely, but Ravaglia prevailed, diving to his right to parry the effort.
Italiano’s men thought they had a reprieve to give them one more shot at staying in the contest, but the frustration would not last for too long in the stands at Villa Park. A throw-in from Digne caught the **Bologna**backline out of shape, and Buendia burst freely into the danger zone. His first touch had set out a shooting angle, the ball snuck through Ravaglia: it was now 5-1 to Emery’s men on aggregate.
There would then be retribution for Rogers in the 39th minute. Watkins wandered to the right side of the field, and as Buendia bustled forwards, he dragged defensive attention away from Rogers on the left. McGinn fed his teammate, and Rogers rattled a rasping strike into the bottom corner of the net. He had netted for the first time in 12 outings, and the hosts were cruising their way into the semi-final.
Italiano knew that the tie was dead, but he did not hesitate to make a triple substitution for the start of the second half. Riccardo Orsolini operated on the right wing in place of Bernardeschi, Simon Sohm switched in for Freuler in the middle of the park, and **Nadir Zortea**stepped in for Mario at right back.
It only took ten minutes after the restart for **Bologna**to level the number of shots they put up in the first half. However, Villa could be confident in their sizeable lead, and Emery prepared substitutions, using his full complement of five reserves as focus began to shift towards their task on the weekend.
Jadon Sancho returned from a knock to feature for the final quarter of an hour as a replacement for Rogers. Douglas Luiz partnered with Lamare Bogarde in the double pivot, and ten minutes prior, McGinn made way for Leon Bailey, while Watkins would come off for Tammy Abraham upfront.
In the 81st minute, Digne daggered the first effort for the Villans after the restart, and the Frenchman pulled off a brilliant block to stop Orsolini from spoiling the clean sheet. It had been a virtually perfect performance from Emery’s men, and there would be a final act to appeal to the fans.
At the end of normal time, Sancho set up Bailey to try to test the goalkeeper, and he earned a corner. Luiz launched the ball into the box, and his delivery deflected up into the air, allowing Konsa to crack home an effort on the swivel. Four goals for the Villans on the night, and a 7-1 win across the tie.
The season is now effectively over for the Rossoblu, who are nine points adrift of the European positions in **Serie A**with less than two months of the calendar to go. But it is full steam ahead for Villa, who face Nottingham Forest in the final four of the competition, and having picked up four points from their two Premier League outings against the Tricky Trees, aspirations should stay high for the claret and blue camp.