Aston Villa will take a 3-1 advantage into the second leg of their Europa League quarter-final tie against Bologna following a hard-fought victory in Italy. After surviving a string of Bologna attacks, Villa led through a header from Ezri Konsa, which came against the run of play in the dying seconds of the first half, before Ollie Watkins doubled their advantage six minutes into the second. But Unai Emery's side were handed two huge reprieves in the first half as they struggled to find a foothold at Stadio Renato Dall'Ara. Watkins then pounced on a mistake by Torbjorn Heggem and finished through the legs of Ravaglia to pull his side further ahead in the 51st minute. Rowe reduced the deficit in the closing stages to give Bologna hope, which was dashed immediately by Watkins' second in the 95th minute as the 1982 European champions took a big step towards a place in the semi-finals.

Source: BBC April 09, 2026 21:38 UTC