Ollie Watkins scored a brace as Aston Villa secured a 3-1 victory over Bologna in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final at Stadio Renato Dall’Ara. The result gives Unai Emery's side a strong advantage ahead of the return leg at Villa Park. Watkins declared himself 'raring to go' for the season's end.
Aston Villa withstood pressure from Bologna to take command of their Europa League quarter-final tie with a 3-1 win on Wednesday evening. Bologna thought they had taken the lead in the first half when Ezri Konsa deflected Santiago Castro’s effort over the line, but the goal was disallowed for offside. Villa capitalized shortly before half-time as Konsa headed in from Youri Tielemans’ corner after Bologna goalkeeper Federico Ravaglia misjudged the delivery, making it 1-0 to the visitors despite Bologna's dominance early on. Emi Martínez made key saves, including denying Juan Miranda and thwarting Jonathan Rowe late on. Seven minutes into the second half, excellent pressing from Emi Buendía set up Watkins to slot home his first, doubling Villa's lead. Bologna pulled one back in the 90th minute through Rowe's curling strike, but Watkins tapped in from another Tielemans corner with the last kick of the game to restore the two-goal cushion. Watkins told TNT Sports: “Back end of the season I’m raring to go. I could play another 90 minutes. I’m excited for the next few games. I’m hungry.” He noted Bologna's quality, saying their winger Rowe caused problems with a great finish. Manager Unai Emery emphasized set-pieces as a priority, telling TNT: “Set-pieces are always important but today it was our priority defensively and offensively.” Emery described the result as fantastic but stressed the need to respect Bologna in the second leg.
