Aston Villa took a big step toward the Europa League semi-finals with a 3-1 first-leg victory over Bologna, inspired by a brilliant brace from Ollie Watkins.
After a lively start at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara, Villa were given an early scare when Santiago Castro bundled the ball into the net, but the goal was quickly ruled out by VAR for offside in the buildup.
Bologna pushed for a response and came close through Lewis Ferguson, whose effort struck the underside of the crossbar. However, it was Villa who struck first just before half-time, as Youri Tielemans delivered a dangerous corner that Ezri Konsa headed home at the far post.
Villa doubled their lead shortly after the restart when a defensive error allowed Emi Buendía to set up Watkins, who calmly finished through the goalkeeper’s legs.
Bologna threatened late on, with Federico Bernardeschi going close before Jonathan Rowe pulled one back with a stunning curling effort near the end.
But Villa had the final word, as another Tielemans corner caused problems and Watkins was on hand to tap in his second of the night, restoring the two-goal advantage.
Watkins’ performance was particularly notable, as he has now been directly involved in goals in three consecutive European matches for the first time in his career.
Under Unai Emery, Villa have also found the net in their last 11 Europa League games—their longest scoring streak in the competition.
For Bologna, the defeat marked their first-ever home loss by a margin of two or more goals in European competition.
