Aston Villa advance to the Europa League semi-finals; Emery: We must maintain high standards and continue to be consistent.

Aston Villa defeated Bologna 4-0 in the second leg of their UEFA Europa League quarter-final tie in the 2025/26 season, thanks to goals from Watkins, Buendia, Morgan Rodgers, and Konsa. Unai Emery stated that his team still needs to work harder and maintain a high standard of performance.

In the 16th minute, Morgan Rodgers crossed the ball into the box, and Watkins fired a low shot into the net, giving Aston Villa a 1-0 lead. In the 26th minute, Digne threw the ball into the penalty area, and Buendia received it, took a few steps, and then slotted it home, extending Aston Villa's lead over Bologna to 2-0.

In the 39th minute, McGinn delivered a diagonal pass, and Morgan Rodgers received the ball, dodging the defense and slotting it home to make it 3-0 for Aston Villa. In the 89th minute of the second half, Douglas Luiz took a corner, Abraham headed it on, and Konsa turned and fired a shot into the net, securing a 4-0 victory for Aston Villa.

Ultimately, Aston Villa secured a resounding 4-0 victory over Bologna at home, earning a 7-1 aggregate win and a place in the Europa League semi-finals.

Aston Villa manager Unai Emery said, "It's really great, but we still have work to do. We enjoyed the game with the fans, and the atmosphere they created here was really fantastic. That atmosphere helped us a lot."

“We beat Bologna, and now we’re happy with everything we’ve done, but there are still games to play, and the top priority right now is still the Premier League. We’re fourth in the table, and then we’ll face Sunderland. Reaching the semi-finals is something to be proud of; we did it two years ago in the Europa League, last season we reached the Champions League quarter-finals, and this year it’s the Europa League semi-finals, so I’m very happy.”

Emery emphasized, "I will remain calm because we must maintain high standards and continue to be stable."

It's worth mentioning that 30-year-old England striker Watkins reached the milestone of his 100th career goal for Aston Villa after scoring in this match.

Emery stated, "Statistics are very important for both players and the team. We are all proud of players when they achieve their individual goals."

In addition, Bologna coach Vincenzo Itagiano said in an interview, "After the score in the first leg, it is a very difficult task to achieve a comeback. We tried hard to challenge in a game against a strong opponent, but the first goal made it very difficult for us to turn the tide."

“We are satisfied with the team’s growth. Our primary goal was to qualify from the league stage, which we achieved by passing two rounds of knockout matches. We are certainly disappointed with this result, but reaching the quarterfinals is a great achievement for us.”

Image source: Internet