Watkins Doubles Up To Sink Bologna And Put Aston Villa In Driving Seat

Ollie Watkins enjoyed a feast successful Italy’s culinary capital, scoring 2 2nd half goals against a pumped-up Bologna broadside to return a comfortable lead backmost to Birmingham and nan imaginable of a Europa League semi-final arsenic a secondi piatti.

Watkins’ brace, followed Ezri Konsa’s opening goal, and each extremity was successful immoderate measurement owed to Bologna errors. But they did not show nan full communicative of nan contest, pinch nan Serie A broadside dominating overmuch of nan play. But aft a flap by goalkeeper Federico Ravaglia had fto Konsa successful connected nan cusp of half-time, Villa managed nan crippled efficaciously and responded to a precocious Bologna onslaught by their Englishman, Jonathan Rowe, by scoring a 3rd successful wounded time.

Villa had beaten Bologna doubly successful nan past 18 months of European competition, but some victories were constrictive and some were astatine home.

An distant necktie would beryllium a different bid of challenge, Unai Emery had warned, and he was proven correct arsenic Bologna dominated nan opening half of play, only to scope nan break a extremity down.

Dominant successful possession successful nan opening stages, Bologna were observant pinch nan shot while Villa went nonstop and often looked ragged arsenic a result. Bologna’s wingers were nan astir vulnerable players connected nan pitch, and Federico Bernardeschi’s transverse from nan correct was astir turned successful spectacularly by Juan Miranda successful nan 21st minute, but his scissor footwear was scrambled behind.

It was connected nan near that Bologna sewage continual joy, pinch Rowe besting his duels pinch Matty Cash. A superb return connected nan thorax from a nonstop walk sent nan erstwhile Norwich man clear successful nan 26th infinitesimal and he teed up Santiago Castro whose changeable bobbled up disconnected Ezri Konsa and into nan nett contempt Cash’s precocious clearance. The Renato Dall’Ara erupted, but nan joyousness leaked distant slow arsenic it transpired that nan video adjunct referee had sewage involved, ruling retired nan extremity owed to Castro’s toed being offside, albeit pinch nary connection to anyone successful nan ground.

A prone Ezri Konsa heads Aston Villa into nan lead. Photograph: Elisabetta Baracchi/EPA

Rowe hit up connected Cash again 3 minutes later and pulled a trivela transverse to nan punishment spot wherever Lewis Ferguson, nan Bologna captain, met it pinch an unfastened footwear and collapsed a changeable disconnected nan underside of nan bar, but this clip nan shot stayed successful play.

There was some a consciousness of injustice successful nan crushed and increasing excitement aft each that, but arsenic nan first half came to a adjacent nan second ebbed distant and nan erstwhile intensified arsenic Villa took an undeserved lead. Without Watkins, scrapping to clasp nan shot and support possession connected nan halfway statement pinch 3 minutes until half-time, thing would person travel to pass, but his difficult activity led to a area and past another. Youri Tielemans’ 2nd transportation was bully but should person been cleared by goalkeeper Federico Ravaglia. Instead, and pinch nary 1 adjacent to him, he came and wholly missed nan ball, pinch Konsa capable to stoop and move nan shot home. Apparently self-conscious astir his bully fortune, he hardly celebrated.

Things went from bad to worse for nan hosts almost instantly aft nan restart. Bologna had already fashioned a chance done Rowe, Tommaso Pobega’s fierce thrust flying complete nan bar, earlier Miranda made an correction successful possession connected nan separator of his ain box. The Spaniard attempted a move of play, but his walk was excessively fierce for Torbjørn Heggem and Emí Buendía smuggled nan shot distant from him and quickly teed up Watkins who was free successful nan box. The England man wasn’t astir to walk up specified an opportunity and, advancing connected goal, he slipped a cool decorativeness betwixt Ravaglia’s legs. Five minutes later Morgan Rogers almost made it three, but his changeable from nan separator of nan container besides cleared nan crossbar.

There was clip yet for Rowe to time off his people connected nan match, creating a number of opportunities successful nan last 15 minutes earlier he trim wrong successful nan 90th infinitesimal to crook a beautiful correct ft changeable past Emí Martínez. The location crowd astatine past had thing to cheer about, but almost instantly Villa won a area up nan different end, nan shot cleared nan full Italian defence and Watkins poked it home.