Watkins Brace Puts Aston Villa in Control of Europa League Quarter-final vs Bologna
Aston Villa seized a strong advantage in their UEFA Europa League quarter-final, winning 3–1 away to Bologna FC 1909 in the first leg on 9 April 2026.
In a tight first half, the visitors made the breakthrough just before the interval. At the 44th minute, Ezri Konsa opened the scoring for Aston Villa, finishing a move created by Youri Tielemans to give the Premier League side a 1–0 lead at the break.
Villa doubled their advantage early in the second half. In the 51st minute, Ollie Watkins made it 2–0, converting after good work from Emiliano Buendía. The goal put the visitors firmly in control of the tie, leaving Bologna chasing the game.
The hosts kept pushing and were eventually rewarded in the closing stages. On 90 minutes, Jonathan Rowe pulled one back for Bologna, assisted by Jhon Lucumí, briefly raising hopes of a late comeback and setting up a nervy finale.
However, Aston Villa responded almost immediately. Deep into added time, at 90+4 minutes, Watkins struck again, this time from a Tielemans assist, restoring the two-goal cushion and completing his brace to seal a 3–1 away win.
Bologna saw Jhon Lucumí and Tommaso Pobega booked in the 14th and 65th minutes respectively, while Morgan Rogers received a yellow card for Villa on 85 minutes. Both coaches turned to their benches in the second half, with Bologna introducing Nikola Moro, Riccardo Orsolini, Jens Odgaard and Nicolò Cambiaghi, and Villa bringing on Lamare Bogarde, Ian Maatsen and Leon Bailey.
Beyond the goals, bookings and substitutions listed, detailed match statistics and other events were not available in the provided data.
The result leaves Aston Villa in a commanding position heading into the second leg of this Europa League quarter-final. For more on the competition, visit the UEFA Europa League page on Ballaxy, or see the full match overview at Bologna vs Aston Villa.
UEFA Europa League Standings
| # | Team | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Form |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Olympique Lyonnais
|
8 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 18 | 5 | 13 | 21 | |
| 2 |
Aston Villa FC
|
8 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 14 | 6 | 8 | 21 | L W W |
| 3 |
FC Midtjylland
|
8 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 18 | 8 | 10 | 19 | |
| 4 |
Real Betis Balompié
|
8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 13 | 7 | 6 | 17 | L D |
| 5 |
FC Porto
|
8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 13 | 7 | 6 | 17 | L D |
| 6 |
Sporting Clube de Braga
|
8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 5 | 6 | 17 | W W D |
| 7 |
SC Freiburg
|
8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 4 | 6 | 17 | L W W |
| 8 |
AS Roma
|
8 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 13 | 6 | 7 | 16 | |
| 9 |
KRC Genk
|
8 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 7 | 4 | 16 | |
| 10 |
Bologna FC 1909
|
8 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 15 | L L |
| 11 |
VfB Stuttgart
|
8 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 15 | 9 | 6 | 15 | |
| 12 |
Ferencvárosi TC
|
8 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 12 | 11 | 1 | 15 | |
| 13 |
Nottingham Forest FC
|
8 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 15 | 7 | 8 | 14 | W W D |
| 14 |
FC Viktoria Plzeň
|
8 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 14 | |
| 15 |
FK Crvena Zvezda
|
8 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 14 | |
| 16 |
RC Celta de Vigo
|
8 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 15 | 11 | 4 | 13 | L L |
| 17 |
PAOK Thessaloniki FC
|
8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 17 | 14 | 3 | 12 | |
| 18 |
Lille OSC
|
8 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 12 | 9 | 3 | 12 | |
| 19 |
Fenerbahçe SK
|
8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 12 | |
| 20 |
Panathinaikos AO
|
8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 11 | 9 | 2 | 12 | |
| 21 |
Celtic FC
|
8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 13 | 15 | -2 | 11 | |
| 22 |
PFK Ludogorets 1945 Razgrad
|
8 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 12 | 15 | -3 | 10 | |
| 23 |
GNK Dinamo Zagreb
|
8 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 12 | 16 | -4 | 10 | |
| 24 |
SK Brann
|
8 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 11 | -2 | 9 | |
| 25 |
BSC Young Boys
|
8 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 10 | 16 | -6 | 9 | |
| 26 |
SK Sturm Graz
|
8 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 11 | -6 | 7 | |
| 27 |
FCSB Bukarest
|
8 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 9 | 16 | -7 | 7 | |
| 28 |
Go Ahead Eagles
|
8 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 14 | -8 | 7 | |
| 29 |
Feyenoord Rotterdam
|
8 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 11 | 15 | -4 | 6 | |
| 30 |
FC Basel 1893
|
8 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 9 | 13 | -4 | 6 | |
| 31 |
FC Red Bull Salzburg
|
8 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 10 | 15 | -5 | 6 | |
| 32 |
Rangers FC
|
8 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 5 | 14 | -9 | 4 | |
| 33 |
OGC Nice
|
8 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 15 | -8 | 3 | |
| 34 |
FC Utrecht
|
8 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 5 | 15 | -10 | 1 | |
| 35 |
Malmö FF
|
8 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 4 | 15 | -11 | 1 | |
| 36 |
Maccabi Tel Aviv FC
|
8 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 22 | -20 | 1 |
