Watkins nears century for Villa with Europa League brace | OneFootball

Ollie Watkins struck twice as Aston Villa took control of their UEFA Europa League quarter-final tie with a hard-earned 3-1 victory over Bologna on Thursday night.

Villa already held the lead through Ezri Konsa when Watkins doubled their advantage shortly after the break, finishing clinically to strengthen the visitors’ grip on the contest.

Although Jonathan Rowe pulled a goal back late on to give Bologna hope ahead of the return leg, Watkins struck again deep into stoppage time to restore Villa’s two-goal cushion and put them firmly in control of the tie heading back to Villa Park next week.

The brace continued an encouraging run of form for Watkins following his omission from England national football team’s most recent squad under Thomas Tuchel. The forward has now scored four goals in his last five appearances and moved to 99 goals for Villa in the process.

His latest European contribution also placed him in rare company. Since the turn of the century, only three English players have scored twice in a Europa League quarter-final match. Before Watkins, the feat had been achieved by Ray Parlour, who netted a hat-trick for Arsenal against Werder Bremen in 2000, and James Tavernier, whose double helped Rangers overturn their tie with Braga on the way to the 2022 final.

Villa will now take a strong advantage into the second leg at Villa Park as they look to move a step closer to the semi-finals.