Aston Villa made it three consecutive Champions League clean sheets and wins after seeing off Bologna in a 2-0 victory on Tuesday night.
Goals from John McGinn and Jhon Duran secured all three points as we move to the top of the standings at the time of writing, and it was another memorable European night at Villa Park.
READ MORE: What Unai Emery said in assessment of Villa’s win over Bologna
With a trip to Club Brugge next followed by the visit of Juventus, Villa have a challenging schedule ahead when combined with our Premier League and Carabao Cup commitments, but it’s been a long time since there was such a level of excitement and optimism.
Focus for now will switch to Bournemouth this weekend as we look to extend our unbeaten streak across all competitions, but there was a lot to be pleased with in midweek as we defeated Bologna.
Villa growing in maturity, composure to be a winning side in Europe
Our three wins in the Champions League thus far haven’t come by luck, we’ve shown that we belong at this level and can win consistently against some top sides from around Europe.
Beyond the results, it’s been so impressive to see how mature, composed and methodical the players have continued to be to build on our domestic form over the past two years under Unai Emery.
We’ve got some major tests still to come, but we’re developing into a well-oiled machine that has a clear identity, style of play and direction with which we play, and that is helping our adaptation to this level.
Emery’s superior tactical quality comes to the fore again
Bologna posed a different challenge with their man-to-man approach as we were effectively involved in key duels across the pitch.
The Serie A side caused us problems in the early stages as we looked slightly vulnerable and struggled to adapt, but as the first half went on, we steadied ourselves, settled into the game and began to wrestle control away from them.
Youri Tielemans spoke in his post-match interview about how Emery challenged the players to deal with that set-up as he undoubtedly prepared them for it, and he was ultimately able to find the answers to secure a win. There has been a clear step up in our performances this season, as the Villa boss continues to fine-tune and develop our way of playing.
Maatsen gives Villa a selection headache
Ian Maatsen was handed a rare start in midweek, as the Dutchman has had to be patient so far this season given the form of Lucas Digne.
He certainly took that chance to impress with an impactful display in both phases of the game, as he defended diligently and broke forward to give us width and an attacking outlet down the left flank.
Time will tell if he’s given an opportunity to follow this performance up in our next few games, but it’s another indication of our strength in depth that we have two excellent options vying for a starting berth at left-back.
Kamara makes highly-anticipated return from injury
What a sight it was to see Boubacar Kamara make his long-awaited comeback after being sidelined with a serious knee injury in February.
It’s been a gruelling process for him as he went through his rehabilitation, and having gradually ticked off the milestones, he got valuable minutes in this one to start to build his match fitness and sharpness back up.
He’ll be fundamental not only in providing competition and depth, but as he gets back to top form, his influence in midfield will be critical given the quality he brings both in and out of possession.
McGinn leads Villa to win in Champions League at Villa Park
There was something heart-warming about seeing McGinn lead the team out at Villa Park in the Champions League this week.
Our skipper missed the win over Bayern Munich due to injury, and so he would have been delighted to feature in this one, and he didn’t disappoint having also broken the deadlock for us with his in-swinging free-kick.
As he noted after the game, it’s been some journey since he joined us over seven years ago, but the trajectory on which we’re currently moving, it’s the best period for us collectively and there is still so much more to come given the improvement we can still make as we gain experience and continue to learn from what Emery is teaching.
