Aston Villa secured a 3-0 win over Hibernian at Villa Park on Thursday night, and advanced to the group stage of the Europa Conference League after an 8-0 aggregate scoreline.
Goals from Jhon Duran, Leon Bailey and Matty Cash ensured it was a comfortable night after doing much of the damage in the first leg at Easter Road last week, with Unai Emery delighted with both the performance and securing our spot in the competition via the play-off round.
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While Villa will learn who our group opponents are on Friday afternoon, it was a fourth consecutive win across all competitions after that defeat to Newcastle Utd on the opening weekend, and although we didn’t look quite as solid at the back in this game, it’s another impressive win that builds confidence and momentum.
Focus will now switch to a difficult trip to Liverpool on Sunday, but with players rested and the goals continuing to flow, we’ll head to Anfield with optimism that we can return home with a positive result.
Emery gets balance right as he rotates
Although there’s the upcoming international break, it’s important that Emery is able to rotate and rest key individuals given our hectic schedule in September and across the season as a whole.
Villa will play four games in 14 days once the break is concluded, and it’s vital that we keep everyone fresh while we continue to receive positive news on the injury front with players returning from setbacks later this month.
Emery struck the perfect balance as he left the likes of John McGinn, Ollie Watkins, Moussa Diaby, Diego Carlos and Matty Cash on the bench, but he was able to give many of them minutes to stay sharp as well and so it was excellently managed from the Villa boss.
Important boost for Duran
It was great to see Jhon Duran grab his second goal of the season, with the 19-year-old having a vital role to play for us this season as depth behind Watkins.
There were promising signs that he’s settling into the team and adapting to Emery’s demands, and aside from his nice finish to break the deadlock as he latched onto a delightful pass from Pau Torres, he showed good movement, directness and positive link-up play to provide an important presence up top.
The Colombian international is hopefully now building confidence and momentum, and we’ll need him to provide an important dynamic off the bench and a consistent goalscoring threat this season.
Kellyman impresses on senior debut
An impressive full senior debut for Omari Kellyman, as the 17-year-old put in a mature performance to go along with showcasing his obvious talent and potential.
The youngster consistently found pockets of space in key areas to offer a threat, and he did brilliantly to provide the assist for Bailey’s goal with smart play in the final third.
Importantly, he looks a good fit for our system and style of play, and so it’s hoped that he has a big future under Emery and continues to improve and develop this season if he stays with the senior squad.
Dendoncker returns
While some may question just how important a boost this is, Leander Dendoncker’s return to the fold could be crucial for Emery moving forward.
The Belgian international needs to find consistency, both in terms of his fitness and form, to be a reliable presence for the Villa boss, who once again reiterated this past week that he does envisage the midfielder having an important role.
With his physical presence, defensive steeliness in midfield and the ability to provide an option to rest others, he will be a key part of the squad this season, and so it was good to welcome him back after a lengthy absence.
Objective achieved as Villa set for Europe
After the brilliant run we had last season following Emery’s arrival and having managed to secure seventh place, it was imperative that we finished the job in the play-off round and made the group stage.
Villa made it look straight-forward with two strong performances over the two legs, and while we’ll face tougher opposition and a more European style in the group, it was an important experience for this squad to have together.
It has hopefully prepared us well for the competition, and Emery will no doubt be targeting another trophy in Europe now as we look to continue our impressive start to the season.