Key events
45 mins: Two added minutes.
44 mins: There’s another big appeal for handball as Bologna frantically try to get the ball clear – but nothing doing this time. Replays suggest that Joao Mario’s arm didn’t touch the ball.
43 mins: Cash gets upfield and sends in a cross that is cleared behind for a corner …
So, Villa lead 6-1 on aggregate despite Bologna causing plenty of problems, particularly in the first leg. But while the Italian side look good going forward, they have been shocking defensively.
Ravaglia is beaten at his near post again as Rogers collects McGinn’s pass on the left, takes a touch and finishes with the necessary aplomb.
GOAL! Aston Villa 3-0 Bologna (Rogers 38′)
And now Morgan Rogers has ended his barren run, drilling the ball home from a narrow angle!
37 mins: Rowe does find a pocket of space now, and sends a dangerous cross towards the far post, where forward Santiago Castro can’t quite reach it.
35 mins: Rowe again tries to make something happen out wide, but Cash is able to contain him …
34 mins: Did you know that Federico Bernardeschi was given the nickname “Brunelleschi” (after a famous Florentine architect) while at Fiorentina? Now you do. No, not much is happening.
32 mins: Bernardeschi chases a through ball under pressure from Digne, then remonstrates with the assistant in the classic Italian style. He needs to be careful, having just been booked.
Fiorentina have pulled one back against Palace thanks to Albert Gudmundsson’s penalty – but they’re still 4-1 down on aggregate.
32 mins: Rowe does well to keep the ball in from a Bologna free kick, but Villa’s defence get it away.
30 mins: Shooooooot, the home fans urge Lucas Digne, who has a go but slips and sends the ball straight to a Bologna player. No harm done.
29 mins: If Bologna arrived here with faint hopes, the jig is pretty much up already. Bernardeschi goes in the book for a clumsy late challenge on Amadou Onana.
“Billy Bremner and Billy McNeil were captains of Leeds and Celtic in the European Cup in 1970. Leeds won the tie 2-1,” writes Bill Laidlaw. Now that was a proper football match.
GOAL! Aston Villa 2-0 Bologna (5-1 on agg) Buendia 25′
Never mind! While Bologna are still celebrating the penalty save, Lucas Digne’s long throw finds Emi Buendía, who bundles his shot inside the near post.
Rogers’ penalty is saved!
… and still hasn’t! The penalty is low but scuffed and too central – and Ravaglia gets down well to repel it.
Penalty to Aston Villa
It’s given, and Morgan Rogers will step up after John McGinn hands him the ball. He hasn’t scored in 11 games …
22 mins: Penalty check! Digne swings in a cross, which Vitik clears away from Rogers – but the ball struck his arm on the way through, and the referee is heading to the monitor.
20 mins: Bernardeschi hits another well-struck but central effort that Martinez parries away. Over in Florence, Crystal Palace lead 1-0, and 4-0 on aggregate – Ismaila Sarr with the goal.
18 mins: Rogers gets free again and forces Ravaglia into a solid save, springing to his left. Villa were barely simmering before that goal, but have turned up the heat with frightening speed.
There were 14 passes leading up to the goal, Rogers combining beautifully with Buendia before cutting the ball back perfectly for Watkins to slam it home.
GOAL! Aston Villa 1-0 Bologna (4-1 on agg) Watkins 16′
This is a wonderful, intricate team goal, finished off by Ollie Watkins to put Villa in total command!
“I shall be among 1,057 pedants to tell you your Scottish captains question happened at least once before in Europe … in the first leg last week,” honks Benjamin Gravestock (and no other pedants).
13 mins: Rowe again looks to make in-roads from the left, and shimmies into the penalty area before Cash gets across to intercept.
Who will the winners face in the semi-final? The odds on Nottingham Forest have sharpened significantly – they lead 1-0 at home to Porto, who have seen Jan Bednarek sent off!
11 mins: Bernardeschi stings Martinez’s palms with a decent effort from the edge of the area. It’s been a positive start from the visitors, who need to win by two goals just to force extra time.
“I thought the first round of the 1978-79 European Cup, where Liverpool played Nottingham Forest, may have given us two Scottish captains of non-Scottish sides – Graeme Souness and John McGovern respectively,” writes Tony Hughes.
“It appears that Emlyn Hughes was still captain back then, though – Souness had to wait until 1981-82 season.” You might argue that if Souey’s in your dressing room, he’s the captain in all but name.
9 mins: Rowe bustles in from the left flank and sees his shot charged down, before Villa get a free kick for a foul on Digne. It’s greeted with ironic cheers from the crowd, who have seen too many calls go Bologna’s way in the first, er, nine minutes.
7 mins: Lovely play by Watkins at the byline, cutting past a defender and finding Rogers. His cut-back evades Tielemans, leaving Pau Torres to hit a speculator high over the bar.
5 mins: Matty Cash stands up to Jonathan Rowe’s first attempted foray down Villa’s right, and the ball is out for a goal kick. Rowe caused plenty of problems in the first leg, and will be one to watch tonight.
3 mins: A few Villa players are a yellow card away from suspension: Cash, Rogers, McGinn, Digne and substitute Victor Lindelof. Bookings are wiped out for the semi-finals, but suspensions aren’t, so all five must tread carefully.
2 mins: Emi Buendia tries to bend one on target from the edge of the area, but sees his shot blocked.
First half
The referee, José María Sánchez of Spain, gets us under way. Villa are in their traditional claret and blue, with Bologna in white away shirts.
The players are in the tunnel, with captains McGinn and Ferguson enjoying some pre-match patter. Villa fans have unveiled what I can only describe as a Renaissance-themed tifo. It’s bubbling up nicely.
Some pre-game thoughts from Unai Emery: “We got a good result [in Bologna]but it’s not done. It’s going to be difficult, we respect them, but we are confident with our great supporters behind us.”
He adds that experience of near misses – losing to Olympiakos in the semi-finals, finishing sixth in the league last term – is galvanising his players. “Of course, Champions League is the best gift we can achieve. We are excited, we are motivated.”
As dozens of TV ads paid for by bookmakers relentlessly advise me to take a break from betting, I can report that it’s finished Celta 1-3 Freiburg (1-6 on agg) in the Europa League, and AZ 2-2 Shakhtar (2-5 on agg) in the Conference League.
I noticed on the team sheets that both of tonight’s captains are Scottish: John McGinn and Lewis Ferguson. Has this ever happened before in a European tie – particularly one not featuring a Scottish team? Hey, it’s like a live Knowledge, this. Just don’t ask me anything.
In tonight’s early game, Freiburg are cruising into the semi-finals – after winning 3-0 at home to Celta Vigo last week, they’re repeating the trick in Spain to lead 6-0 on aggregate. The Bundesliga side will face either Real Betis or Braga in the final four.
In the Conference League, THE have just levelled to make it 1-1 at home to Shakhtar Donetsk; sadly for the hosts, they lost the first leg 3-0, so are very much heading out. Shakhtar will face Crystal Palace in the semis unless Fiorentina can pull off a spectacular comeback from three goals down in Italy this evening.
Team news
Aston Villa (4-2-3-1): Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Torres, Digne; Onana, Tielemans; McGinn (c), Rogers, Buendía; Watkins.
Subs from: Bizot, Wright, Lindelöf, Mings, Elliott, García, Abraham, Sancho, Douglas Luíz, Maatsen, Bogarde, Bailey.
Bologna (4-3-3): Ravaglia; João Mario, Vitik, Casale, Miranda; Freuler, Moro, Ferguson (c); Bernardeschi, Castro, Rowe.
Subs from: Pessina, Franceschelli, Pobega, Orsolini, Heggem, Zortea, Odgaard, Lykogiannis, Sohm, Cambiaghi, Castaldo.
Preamble
Much like one of those old-timey “choose your own adventure” stories, Aston Villa have two clear paths to the Champions League. Unlike said books, there appears to be little immediate peril on either route.
Villa are seven points clear of sixth-placed Chelsea in the Premier League, and got the job in this tie more than halfway done in the first leg in Italy. Get through tonight and Porto or Nottingham Forest (!) await in the semi-finals, while mid-table Sunderland and Fulham are up next in the league.
Top-five finish or a European trophy? Maybe Unai Emery can have it all, but for now, he has to keep managing tired legs and taking each game as it comes. Villa remain under the radar, but a hugely impressive double achievement is getting closer with every result. Kick-off: 8pm BST.
