Aston Villa skipper John McGinn particularly enjoyed Ezri Konsa's goal in the 4-0 thrashing of Bologna
Aston Villa's John McGinn
Aston Villa's John McGinn(Image: CameraSport via Getty Images)
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John McGinn spoke of his delight at helping Aston Villa reach the semi-finals of the Europa League following a 7–1 aggregate win over Bologna in the last eight.
After winning 3–1 in Italy last week, Villa thrashed Vincenzo Italiano’s side at Villa Park on Thursday night to set up a tie against Nottingham Forest in the next round.
Ollie Watkins scored his 100th goal for the club to set Villa on their way to a ninth successive Europa League victory, with Emi Buendia doubling the lead soon after.
Although Morgan Rogers had a penalty saved prior to Buendia's goal, he still managed to get on the scoresheet before half-time.
Ezri Konsa added a late goal with a fine finish, swivelling in the box and planting a volley past Federico Ravaglia in front of the Holte End, scoring in successive games from a corner.
“It was a great finish! We were laughing in the dugout,” McGinn said on TNT Sports after full-time. “He should probably score more goals from set-pieces, so he will be chuffed with that. We are delighted to be in the semis.
“It was a brilliant performance, we needed to get the first goal. It was very important because they’re a dangerous team away from home – they’ve shown that over the years.
“To get the first goal and then a great first half gets us into a semi-final. I’m delighted.”
He added: “They’re a team who come and press you aggressively, so it’s important to pass it forward.
“Last week we didn’t pass it forward enough; we passed it forward early and scored a great [first] goal.
“I’m delighted for Ollie, it’s a great achievement at a massive club. You could see at the end that he’s delighted.
“The manager touched upon that we had to respect Bologna and treat the game as if it was 0-0, but once you get ahead it was about trying to look after ourselves.
“We’ve got a big game on Sunday and we have an objective in the league to try and make the top five. We need to recover now for Sunday.”
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