John McGinn ends Scotland teammate’s dream of Europa League glory.
Scotland talisman John McGinn took a major step towards the Europa League final as he captained Aston Villa to a thumping 4-0 (7-1 on aggregate) win against Lewis Ferguson’s Bologna at Villa Park on Thursday night.
Paired against each other in the quarter-finals of the competition, Ferguson’s side faced a tough task in the Midlands, having lost the first leg 3-1 at the Renato Dall'Ara Stadium last week and quickly fell further behind when Morgan Rogers set up Ollie Watkins in the 16th minute. His 100th goal for the club, the strike saw him surpass McGinn to become the club's all-time leading scorer in Europe.
Offered a temporary reprieve in the 24th minute, Bologna goalkeeper Federico Ravaglia expertly saved a Rogers penalty after Martin Vitik was adjudged to have handled in the area. However, Buendia would fire home a second for the hosts just two minutes later to give them a commanding 2-0 lead on the night.
Lewis Ferguson shows his disappointment after his Bologna side concede a second goal against Aston Villa.placeholder image
Lewis Ferguson shows his disappointment after his Bologna side concede a second goal against Aston Villa. | AFP via Getty Images
McGinn got in on the act himself before the break, slipping a neat ball through to Rogers, who beat Ravaglia at his near post to effectively seal the victory as Aston Villa stormed into the final four of the competition. Ezri Konsa added a fourth in the final minute to complete the rout.
“It was a brilliant performance,” McGinn told TNT Sports. “We needed to get the first goal, it was very important. They're a dangerous team away from home. They've shown that over the years but to get that first goal in a great first half gets us into a semi-final. I'm delighted. They press you aggressively. Last week we didn't pass it forward enough.”
Following the defeat, Bologna skipper Ferguson admitted: “Yeah, it’s really difficult. We made a mess of the first-half, to be honest. When you come to a place like this, you know how good their record is at home. We were two goals behind from the first-leg, but we tried to take some positives and some belief. But in the first-half, we didn’t play like a team with that sort of belief that we could go and win the game.
Ollie Watkins overtook McGinn to become Aston Villa’s leading goal-scorer in Europe with the opener against Bologna on Thursday night.placeholder image
Ollie Watkins overtook McGinn to become Aston Villa’s leading goal-scorer in Europe with the opener against Bologna on Thursday night. | PA
“A top team like Aston Villa just turned us over really and, to be honest, the best team won. At this stage, there’s level to the game, details. They got them right in the first-leg and the second. They killed us off in the first-half tonight. We kept going and tried until the end. The second-half we were a bit better. It has been a great journey in the Europa League, we keep our heads highs, but we came up against a team that are much better than us.”
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The result means Aston Villa have now set the record as the first English side in history to win nine consecutive Europa League games, breaking a previous record held by Chelsea, who recorded eight victories between 2013 and 2018. It also means head coach Unai Emery has reached the seventh Europa League semi-final of his career, with the Spanish coach chasing a record-breaking fifth winners' medal in the competition. He has previously won the competition three times with Sevilla, and once with Villarreal.