Aston Villa Edge Towards Europa League Semi Finals After Solid Victory Over Bologna

Taking part in a European quarter final for the third consecutive season, Aston Villa did not control every moment during their visit to Bologna, instead finding their footing step by step.

Following a quiet beginning to the match, Bologna built up some rhythm, driven by Jonathan Rowe in the centre of their offensive moves.

The forward seemed to give his team a lead in the 26th minute as he advanced with the ball and set up Santiago Castro, whose first time shot took a deflection and sailed over Emiliano Martinez before just crossing the goal line, but VAR ruled it out for offside.

Not discouraged, he then delivered a superb outside of the boot pass to captain Lewis Ferguson, who directed it narrowly onto the bar from below.

Aston Villa eventually responded to those alerts, starting to pose more danger as John McGinn curled a shot just past the upright.

As the interval neared, Federico Ravaglia, standing in for the hurt Lukasz Skorupski, misread the path of a Youri Tielemans corner, letting Ezri Konsa head in his debut goal of the campaign into an unguarded net.

This breakthrough allowed Villa to press on, seizing another error soon into the second half when Emiliano Buendia harried Torbjorn Lysaker Heggem into surrendering possession near his own box, prompting Ollie Watkins to slot a composed effort between Ravaglias legs.

Bolognas early superiority had faded completely as the Premier League outfit dictated the pace, frequently appearing poised to add a third strike.

A surge of pressure towards the end bore fruit for the home side, narrowing the gap when Rowe netted the reward his performance merited via a sharp turn and a precise finish past the outstretched Martinez.

However, a late header from Watkins off a corner in added time reinstated the two goal margin, leaving the Rossoblu with a daunting challenge for the return fixture in England, ending their 11 game unbeaten streak in the UEL (W7, D4).

For Aston Villa, Unai Emerys squad now boasts eight successive UEL triumphs, having secured four of their past five outings across all tournaments as they aim to regain form at this vital stage.