Ezri Konsa headed the opener before Ollie Watkins struck twice to give Aston Villa 3-1 victory over Bologna and a first-leg advantage in their Europa League quarterfinal opener
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BOLOGNA — Ezri Konsa headed the opener before Ollie Watkins struck twice to give Aston Villa 3-1 victory over Bologna and a first-leg advantage in their Europa League quarterfinal opener.
An eighth consecutive Europa League triumph also marked the club’s first win in a UEFA match in Italy on our first visit to the country since 1994.
Coming into the game on a club-record 11-match unbeaten Europa League run, Bologna repeatedly threatened an opener and almost succeeded when Emiliano Martínez pawed Juan Miranda's acrobatic drive behind and Lewis Ferguson volleyed Jonathan Rowe's cross against the underside of the crossbar.
Visiting captain John McGinn curled an effort narrowly wide from distance, but Villa had not fashioned an attempt on target before Ezri Konsa met a corner by Youri Tielemans – starting for the first time since returning from a long-term ankle injury – with a header at the far post to break the deadlock just before half-time.
A persistently dangerous presence, Rowe hurtled along the left early in the second half and located Tommaso Pobega to scoop the ball narrowly over the target, and I Rossoblù were left to rue near-misses when Watkins pounced to double the advantage.
The scorer of the only goal in Villa's win at Lille in the last 16, Watkins took his chance again with a ruthless display of composure when Emiliano Buendía's interception fell to him inside the box, slotting through Federico Ravaglia's legs.
I Rossoblù rallied, Federico Bernardeschi shooting against a post from close range and Rowe forcing Martínez to tip behind at full stretch with a curling shot from just inside the penalty area.
The Englishman finally beat Martínez from similar range with added time looming, only for Watkins to restore Villa's two-goal first-leg advantage by bringing a Tielemans corner down in front of goal added time and firing in his second.
Unai Emery, Aston Villa head coach said after the win, "It's a really fantastic result. Maybe in the first half we were a little hesitant. We were not brilliant, but we were focused. We knew set pieces should be a way to get something. The second half was completely different and we started fantastically. My message inside the dressing room is to keep respecting what Bologna can do in the second leg."