It was mission accomplished at Zrinjski on Thursday, as Aston Villa secured a 1-1 draw and thus sealed top spot in Group E of the Europa Conference League.
Nicolo Zaniolo’s goal gave us the lead in the second half in Mostar, following an opening 45 minutes devoid of quality and chances as we couldn’t make our possession count.
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Although the hosts scored with an excellent strike to seal a share of the spoils, it was enough for Villa to stay top of the group, and we’ll now advance directly to the round of 16 in the competition.
With the draw not until February 23, and the two-legged tie to be played on March 7 and 14, our focus can now switch to domestic matters in the coming months. However, it’s an important box ticked as we look to win silverware this season, as we remain in the hunt in Europe.
Job done as Villa finish top of the group
After defeat away at Legia Warsaw in our opening game of the competition, there was slight concern about our ability to adapt and successfully get to grips with European football.
Albeit we struggled in the reverse fixture at home against Zrinjski, four consecutive wins ultimately showed progress and maturity on this stage, and we were able to complete the assignment this week to finish top of Group E.
Advancing directly to the last 16 instead of having to go through the playoffs round, with the additional two games, was key, and so this was a successful week for Emery and the squad.
Emery rotation crucial as players get valuable minutes
The Villa XI was arguably stronger than many expected, as although we made eight changes to the line-up, there were still a number of regular starters.
However, whether it was Alex Moreno and Jacob Ramsey getting important minutes as they build their fitness and sharpness back up after injury, or Nicolo Zaniolo, Matty Cash and Moussa Diaby who haven’t been as involved in recent weeks settling back in, it’s crucial to keep everyone ready.
Depending on injuries and fitness, and given we’ve got Douglas Luiz and Lucas Digne out suspended this weekend, we’ll need our competition and squad depth to step up and produce, and so it was a vital outing for many.
Zaniolo finally ends his barren run
After going 16 appearances without a goal contribution, Zaniolo finally found the back of the net and produced a lovely touch and finish to register his first Villa goal.
The 24-year-old looked bright and positive in his initial outings after joining us on loan from Galatasaray for the season, but his confidence and form has gradually got away from him in recent months.
It’s hoped that having now had the confidence boost of scoring on his return to the side, the Italian international can now put together a decisive run of form to add another crucial dynamic to our attack.
Debuts for Marschall and O’Reilly
It’s always great to see our youth players make a breakthrough and feature for the senior side, and so with both Filip Marschall and Tommi O’Reilly making their debuts for the first-team, it was a real bonus.
Marschall looked assured and in control for the most part as he has evidently been watching on and listening closely to both Emery and Emi Martinez in terms of what we need from our goalkeeper, particularly with the ability to rush out and sweep up given our high defensive line.
While he had a wobbly few minutes towards the end, he composed himself again well, with O’Reilly coming on late to gain valuable minutes and experience in his development moving forward too.
Important experience gained as European run extended
Albeit there will be tougher tests ahead as we progress in the competition, the group stage was the perfect learning experience for Villa, particularly for those who haven’t played at this level previously.
Emery of course has an abundance of experience in European competitions, and his influence would surely have been crucial in our preparation and game-planning to get the results we needed after our opening-game loss.
It sets us up well moving forward having had the experience of a hostile away ground at Legia, probing until the very end for a dramatic win over Zrinjski at home and then impressing against arguably stiffer competition in AZ Alkmaar. Hopefully, we can use it all to go on a deep run next year when the competition resumes.