First win of the season for Aston Villa

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Aston Villa 1 - 0 Bologna 

Captain John McGinn struck the decisive blow as a nervous Aston Villa scraped their first win of the season with a narrow victory over Bologna.

Author | Jay Dean

Stadium | Villa Park

Super News Football 2025 | Europa League | Aston Villa v Bologna | Players and fans celebrate
Players and fans celebrate

Unai Emery’s side opened their Europa League campaign with three points but offered little to suggest their stuttering start is behind them. Villa looked tentative throughout and Ollie Watkins squandered the chance to ease the tension when his second-half penalty was saved.

The win at least halted a frustrating run after a turbulent week off the pitch, with the president of football operations Monchi, departing and Roberto Olabe arriving from Real Sociedad as his replacement.

McGinn’s early strike from the edge of the box, his second goal against Bologna after scoring against them in last season’s Champions League, proved enough. Before that Evann Guessand had already tested Lukasz Skorupski, who also denied the lively Donyell Malen as Villa pressed for a second.

But Villa’s momentum faded and Bologna, captained by Scotland international Lewis Ferguson, grew in confidence. Federico Bernardeschi drew a save from Marco Bizot soon after the break before Watkins failed from the spot to deepen home frustrations.

Santiago Castro then struck the bar with a header as Bologna pushed for an equaliser and they almost stole one late on, only for Bizot to keep out Martin Vitik.

Drastic improvement still needed for Villa

Their last European night at Villa Park was a pulsating 3-2 Champions League quarter-final win over Paris Saint-Germain in April, a contest that pushed the eventual champions to the brink before Villa fell 5-4 on aggregate.

This latest outing could not have been more different. Confidence and conviction were lacking and Ollie Watkins’ missed penalty in the second half only underlined the uncertainty. Bologna, limited but organised, almost snatched a point late on when Martin Vitik was denied by Marco Bizot.

Super News Football 2025 | Europa League | Aston Villa v Bologna | View from the stands
View from the stands

Villa did what was required but little more. A bright start quickly gave way to hesitation and a disjointed rhythm that stronger opponents, both domestically and in Europe, are certain to exploit.

The match at least provides a platform before Fulham visit on Sunday, yet the form of Watkins and Morgan Rogers is an increasing concern after their pivotal contributions last season.

Unai Emery has built his reputation at Villa on squeezing every ounce from his squad since arriving nearly three years ago. Now he must find a way to reignite them. The standards he has set are so high that questions about this current malaise feel inevitable. For Villa to rediscover those previous heights, a significant improvement is essential.

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