Watkins propels Villa towards Europa League semis, Forest hold Porto
"At 1-1 at half-time in the tie, it's open, and we're at home to decide who qualifies."Braga and Real Betis drew 1-1 in the other quarter-final, first leg on Wednesday. kca/lp
Ollie Watkins scored twice in Aston Villa's win over Bologna (Stefano RELLANDINI) Ollie Watkins scored twice as Aston Villa beat Bologna 3-1 in their Europa League quarter-final, first leg on Thursday, while Nottingham Forest held Porto 1-1 thanks to a comical own goal from Martim Fernandes. Freiburg also have one foot in the last four after beating Celta Vigo 3-0. Villa boss Unai Emery is aiming to win the competition for a fifth time and the favourites rode their luck to emerge victorious in Italy.
"It could've been different," said Watkins. "We got lucky. " Bologna made a bright start to their first European quarter-final in 27 years.
An Ezri Konsa own goal was ruled out by a VAR review for a marginal offside against Santiago Castro before Lewis Ferguson hit the bar. But the Coppa Italia winners were undone by some awful set-piece defending to allow Villa two of their goals. Konsa headed into an unguarded net just before the break after Federico Ravaglia flapped at a corner.
Watkins quickly doubled the visitors' advantage after half-time with a cool finish after Emi Buendia won possession deep in Bologna territory. Federico Bernardeschi hit the post and Jonathan Rowe was denied by a brilliant Emi Martinez save. Rowe's stunning finish in the 90th minute looked to have given Bologna a foothold in the tie.