Follow Aston Villa v Bologna, plus Thursday's other Europa League ties
McGinn fizzes in opener from distance
Villa looking for first win of season
Follow Rangers v Genk here
Aston Villa 1-0 Bologna
Robbie Savage
Forest Green manager on TNT Sports
I'm not sure Bologna have enough creativity. I think they may be better off inviting Villa to play out and try to win it high up.
Aston Villa 1-0 Bologna
I'd actually written Jhon Lucumi's name a few times before the Villa goal and I did actually write Jhon McGinn first by accident...
Aston Villa 1-0 Bologna
Bologna's Jhon Lucumi drills a shot well over from distance.
Aston Villa 1-0 Bologna
A very scrappy spell of play. Foul. Free-kick. Cross. Foul.
Goals galore in Switzerland - we've had four in 25 minutes as Panathinaikos lead Young Boys 3-1.
The only other goal to tell you about is Viktoria Plzen's against Ferencvaros. Rafiu Durosinmi got that one with a fantastic strike.
Image source, Getty ImagesAston Villa 1-0 Bologna
Bologna half-clear a corner and Boubacar Kamara can't quite get the ball where he wants it to shoot.
Aston Villa 1-0 Bologna
Robbie Savage
Forest Green manager on TNT Sports
The keeper gets the ball. The keeper is brave and positive and you have to win the ball there, which he did.
Image source, Getty ImagesAston Villa 1-0 Bologna
Lukasz Skorupski now clatters Donyell Malen but is deemed to have got the ball. Moments later Emiliano Buendia curls a shot wide from the edge of the box.
Aston Villa 1-0 Bologna
Villa win a corner. But this one isn't great as Lukasz Skorupski catches it unopposed.
Aston Villa 1-0 Bologna
Nick Mashiter
BBC Sport football news reporter at Villa Park
It is the third straight game in which Aston Villa have taken the lead but they have failed to hold on previously.
Brentford hit back to beat them on penalties in the Carabao Cup and 10-man Sunderland grabbed a draw on Sunday.
There has been plenty of encouragement and Bologna are giving up chances but one goal has not been enough for Villa so far this season.
Image source, Getty ImagesAston Villa 1-0 Bologna
Bologna's Lewis Ferguson receives a left-wing cross but flicks it over the bar at the near post.
Rangers 0-0 Genk
Rangers come so close to taking the lead as James Tavernier swings in a tasty free-kick and John Souttar is free to aim a header past the goalkeeper, but Genk skipper Bryan Heynen pulls off a spectacular clearance under the crossbar.
Aston Villa 1-0 Bologna
Since the start of the 2023-24 campaign, no player has scored more goals from outside the box in Europe than John McGinn (four).
Aston Villa 1-0 Bologna
Another chance for the Villans. Boubacar Kamara finds Donyell Malen in the box with a clever ball and his shot is saved by the legs of the Bologna keeper.
Image source, ReutersAston Villa 1-0 Bologna
The offside flag has already gone up before Bologna's Jens Odgaard shoots wide from 20 yards out. So no worries.
Aston Villa 1-0 Bologna
This time John McGinn takes a corner and Ian Maatsen has a shot blocked in the box.
Only two goals to bring you from elsewhere and both scored by Panathinaikos. They are 2-0 up at Young Boys just 14 minutes in.
Aston Villa 1-0 Bologna
Robbie Savage
Forest Green manager on TNT Sports
What a brilliant corner routine. It is well worked and then the second phase, it is a great first touch and he drives it.
The first touch allows McGinn to hit it quickly and get Villa ahead early. Great start.
Image source, Getty ImagesAston Villa 1-0 Bologna
The ball lands to John McGinn again outside the box but this time he can't get a shot in.
Aston Villa 1-0 Bologna
Villa win another corner...
| Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals For | Goals Against | Goal Difference | Points | Form, Last 6 games, Oldest first |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 Panathinaikos | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
|
2 Dinamo Zagreb | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
|
3 Midtjylland | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
|
4 Ludogorets Razgrad | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
|
| 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| |
6 Freiburg | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
|
| 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| |
8 FCSB | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
|
9 Viktoria Plzeň | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
|
| 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| |
11 Sporting Braga | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
|
| 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| |
| 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| |
| 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| |
15 Red Star Belgrade | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
|
16 Celta Vigo | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
|
17 Genk | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
|
| 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| |
19 Maccabi Tel Aviv | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
|
20 PAOK | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
|
21 Porto | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
|
| 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| |
23 Red Bull Salzburg | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
|
24 Stuttgart | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
|
25 Utrecht | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
|
26 Basel | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -1 | 0 |
|
27 Brann | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -1 | 0 |
|
28 Malmö FF | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -1 | 0 |
|
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -1 | 0 |
| |
30 Bologna | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 0 |
|
31 Ferencváros | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 0 |
|
32 Feyenoord | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 0 |
|
33 Go Ahead Eagles | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 0 |
|
34 Fenerbahçe | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | -2 | 0 |
|
35 Young Boys | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | -2 | 0 |
|
36 Sturm Graz | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | -2 | 0 |
|
Manager: Unai Emery
Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1
Manager: Vincenzo Italiano
Formation: 4 - 4 - 2
Manager: Unai Emery
Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1
Manager: Vincenzo Italiano
Formation: 4 - 4 - 2
UEFA Europa League
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This is the second consecutive season to see Aston Villa face Bologna in European competition – the Villans won 2-0 in last season’s UEFA Champions League at Villa Park.
Bologna are winless in their last five European games against English opponents (D1 L4) since a 1-0 win over Leeds United in March 1967 in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup.
Aston Villa reached the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals last season before being eliminated by eventual winners Paris Saint-Germain. They netted 23 goals in 2024-25, their most ever in a major European campaign.
Bologna were eliminated in last season’s UEFA Champions League group phase, but they are featuring in major European competition in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1998-99 and 1999-00 in the UEFA Cup.
Aston Villa manager Unai Emery holds the record for the most games managed (93), most wins (56) and most titles won (4) in UEFA Europa League history (excluding a 3-0 Villarreal win v Qarabag in December 2020 that was postponed due to Covid-19). He has reached the final in each of the last five full campaigns in the competition (excluding 2019-20 when he was sacked by Arsenal).
