Aston Villa secured a dramatic 4-2 win over Celtic in the Champions League on Wednesday night, sealing an automatic path to qualify for the last 16.
A hat-trick from Morgan Rogers and a goal from Ollie Watkins eventually proved to be enough for Villa on an eventful night, as Celtic battled back from going 2-0 down after just five minutes to draw level going into the half-time interval.
READ MORE: What Unai Emery said on Watkins, Duran amid Villa exit speculation
However, Villa weren’t to be denied as we secured all three points, and as results elsewhere went our way, we’ve now avoided the knockout playoff round and will wait to see who we will face in the next phase with one of Club Brugge, Sporting, Atalanta or Borussia Dortmund ahead.
It was another memorable European night for all concerned, and it’s hoped that this result can act as a catalyst for us to find consistency in the Premier League now as we look to climb the standings and put together a strong run of form in the second half of the campaign.
Exceptional start, defensive vulnerabilities on show again
In somewhat of a throwback to last season, Villa came out firing as we took a two-goal lead within the opening five minutes, essentially running over Celtic in the early stages and making it count.
It was the perfect start to set the tone on a big European night where we needed a positive result, and so Unai Emery would have been delighted with what he saw in the opening half hour.
However, although it ultimately didn’t cost us in the end, our defensive woes continue as we surrendered another lead in a mini-collapse to end the first half, with Celtic clawing their way back into the game. Admittedly, we are short-handed in defence due to injuries and transfer exits, but Emery has to fix that side of our game as we can’t keep conceding so many poor goals, be it falling behind early or giving up a lead.
Reinforcements will hopefully arrive before the deadline, but collectively, we’ve got to stop conceding so many goals.
Second half Villa performance was superb
In contrast, we were excellent in the second half. While we showed more control and dominated possession, we were able to pin Celtic deeper into their own half, build sustained pressure and eventually find the breakthrough to regain the lead.
Albeit the visitors threatened at times, we imposed ourselves effectively to limit their attacks and continuously carve out openings for ourselves, and if not for some wasteful finishing, the result would have been much more comfortable.
Emery noted in his post-mach interview that he was pleased with the performance after the break in particular, and that’s the standard, tempo and quality that we have to demand of ourselves week in and week out to really compete at the top level.
Kamara shows his class and versatility
With Pau Torres and Tyrone Mings both sidelined, Emery had a selection headache in midweek as he prefers to play with a left-footed player in that left-sided centre-half role to maintain balance in our team and to help with our build-up play out from the back.
Being Boubacar Kamara, the Frenchman can pretty much do anything on the pitch at an elite level, and this was no different as he produced a brilliant shift in the heart of our backline.
While it wasn’t perfect and we did have problems as a defensive unit, as noted above, he defended diligently throughout to give us some sense of solidity at the back, while his composure and technical ability was pivotal in our desire to play out from the back and control the game.
“We are not talking about Kamara at centre-back. Wow. Wow. Fantastic. He’s playing fantastic,” Emery said in his post-match press conference, deservedly singling out the Villa midfielder for praise.
Rogers puts in a masterclass
What a performance from the 22-year-old. This time last year he was still playing in the Championship with Middlesbrough, 12 months on, he’s scoring a hat-trick in the Champions League and continuing to develop into some player.
His pace, power and ability to drive with the ball into the final third has seen him emerge as a stand-out performer and a key cog in Emery’s system, but in this game, he also showed clever positioning and ruthless finishing to make a decisive impact.
That’s now 10 goals and five assists in 31 appearances for Rogers so far this season, and while the challenge is always to continue improving, developing and evolving his game, he’s stepping up now to become a prolific presence.
Villa front three show encouraging signs
We can be critical and say we should have won more comfortably, and while that’s true, we shouldn’t take away from the performances of Rogers, Jacob Ramsey and Ollie Watkins.
Aside from his goals, Rogers was a menace for the Celtic defence all game, while Ramsey is continuing to build momentum, rhythm and confidence after his goal at the weekend. The 23-year-old adds fluidity, creativity and technical quality to our attacking unit, while his movement and ability to pick up good positions comes so naturally to him.
He adds a fundamental balance and dynamic on the left side of our attacking trident, and with his two assists, he reiterated just how important and influential he can be when he’s fit. Let’s hope it stays that way.
For Watkins, he’ll be frustrated that he didn’t score more than the one goal on the night, but coupled with his assists, he showed why he’s our talismanic frontman with the way he leads the line so effectively.
His movement, runs into the channel, personal battles with Celtic defenders to drag them out of position, his hold-up and link-up play as well as his work ethic out of possession all showed why it’s Jhon Duran who is seemingly likely to leave this month and not Watkins. He has to be more clinical, but he’s such a fundamental fit for how we play.
