What’s next for Aston Villa in this European adventure? The road to Athens, as UEFA’s slogan goes for the Europa League, continues. Their adventures so far have taken them to Alkmaar, Amsterdam, Edinburgh, Mostar and Warsaw. For those lucky enough to enjoy an exciting night under the lights, a foldout map at the back of the matchday program easily reveals their potential opponents in Friday’s quarter-final draw. At the end of the game, Villa fans sang Bob Marley’s “Three Little Birds,” the national anthem adopted by Ajax.
The only sour sight was the sight of talisman Ollie Watkins, who opened the scoring and burst into the tunnel with a knee problem. Leon Bailey doubled Villa’s advantage on the hour with a fine finish, with substitutes Jhon Durán and Moussa Diaby scoring goals respectively. Scored the third and fourth goals. The tie was effectively over when Ajax midfielder Sivert Mansverk was sent off midway through the second half, with the Eredivisie side trailing 2-0. Villa have bounced back strongly from last Sunday’s humiliating defeat to Tottenham Hotspur.
Emery has no intention of downplaying the scale of the second leg or the allure of hosting Ajax against their traditional rivals, even if it is not an old-school Dutch side. “That’s what Villa Park is for,” the Villa manager said of the match between the two former European champions, with fireworks and flares set off in the buzzing away stadium to create a frenzy minutes before kick-off atmosphere of. Villa have hosted Ajax here before, in the 2008 UEFA Cup group stage under Martin O’Neill, when Luis Suarez and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar were in the opponents’ starting XI. Nicky Shorey and Luke Young serve as Villa’s full-backs. Gareth Barry won that night.
England midfielder Jordan Henderson is a notable familiar face in Ajax’s squad this time around, although former Middlesbrough striker Chuba Akpom came on from the bench towards the end of the first half, Ajax changed tactics after Watkins’ header and tried to tie the score. Try to get back into the tie. A pause in play before Pele adjudicated a first-half free-kick provided the Holt Stand with the opportunity to welcome Henderson, who again wore the Ajax captain’s armband and returned to the side for the first time since leaving Liverpool. coastal. “A greedy bastard,” people chanted, a nod to his lucrative but short-lived move from the Saudi Arabian Professional League last summer.
Although Watkins may have felt uncomfortable as he limped down the tunnel with 31 minutes remaining, his goal gave Villa a welcome cushion. Watkins clutched his left knee after flying past Ajax goalkeeper Diante Ramage, but 10 minutes later he sprinted towards the front post to curl in a powerful header from Douglas Luiz’s corner. Hit the goal. Watkins is a reliable and strong player who has only missed one of Villa’s 41 games this season due to injury, and his goalscoring numbers speak for themselves as he has done well for the club this season. The 22nd goal in all competitions. Ajax struggled to break through Villa but came close to leveling five minutes into first-half injury time when Matty Cash cleared Brian Brombie’s shot.
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Villa were incensed when a VAR check confirmed Jorrel Hato had pushed Duran and the striker took aim with only Ramaj to beat, but the pain faded seconds later. Villa latched on to Manse Walker’s wayward pass and Bailey cleverly got past Hutto before cutting in. Duran didn’t appear to be doing anything half-assed – he hit the crossbar on Villa’s second appearance against Manchester City – and the 20-year-old went on to score with a lightning bolt that struck the crossbar. Diaby completed the rout with a late strike.
