The Europa League returns with a rematch of last season’s Champions League clash: Aston Villa vs. Bologna. Both teams were eager to get a result right out of the gate, with vastly different lineups than when they last faced. The score was Aston Villa 1-0 Bologna. Here are some key takeaways.
Aston Villa should have been able to score more. The tight scoreline may indicate a cagey affair with few chances, but Aston Villa had far more than one opportunity to score in their European opener. For starters, a missed penalty from Ollie Watkins was a direct chance to double their lead but it was a meager shot down the low middle, simple for Skorupski to save and there were a few opportunities from the likes of Jadon Sancho and Donyell Malen who had a single shot that had the keeper stretching.
Bologna had various opportunities to score and were relatively wasteful. The striker of choice, Castro of Argentina, especially had a wide variety of chances to score, hitting the crossbar and getting into dangerous spaces throughout the match. Ultimately, the bright spots like substitute Orsolini, may have been too little too late.
This victory is not one to celebrate for Aston Villa. Their form has been abysmal in the Premier League, with 1 goal in 5 games. They’ve seen little success thus far this season and a tight 1-0 scrappy win at home against Bologna wasn’t what they needed. This side have been crying out for a display of dominance, but haven’t been able to dominate any team this season even against newly promoted Sunderland, who they drew away against their 10 men.
Bologna can hold their head up. Even though they didn’t manage a goal or point, they should be able to see how they can impose themselves on opposition, and Aston Villa being one of their tougher matchups, would maybe help them to move forward and focus on the remaining 7 matches in the league phase where they can certainly vie for a high point tally.
An underwhelming match to watch when the dust settled. 1-0 win was an adequate result considering the amount of quality in the match. Star absences in the likes of Amadou Onana, Youri Tielemans, Ciro Immobile and so on, led to rotated sides and a different loadout than the strongest they could normally field. There weren’t a wealth of big chances, despite a total of 29 shots taken throughout the match, but the key moments were sparse.