Aston Villa

Mike Taylor
BBC Radio WM reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Act quickly. There are a few hours left to screenshot the Champions League table and set it as the background screen on your phone.

On second thoughts, maybe there is no rush. On current form, Aston Villa will surely be handy favourites to make it four out of four in Bruges in a fortnight.

As a Villa great might have put it: do you want to bet against them?

It will be a while before we know for sure whether this season will be a glorious one-off tour, or the dawning of a new Villa era. Breaking into the modern elite group of clubs is extremely difficult, even with huge financial backing. But all the signs are good.

In just two months, Villa have demonstrated they can overcome the obstacles we might have anticipated in the summer.

Do they have suitable back-up to Ollie Watkins? Jhon Duran would like a word.

Will they be hurt by selling a key player, Douglas Luiz, to keep the finances steady? Now Villa seem to have more midfield options and competition than ever.

Can they handle the fixture congestion now they are in the top-tier European tournament, rather than the Conference League? Your new phone screen has the answer.

There are many moments already this season, some never to be forgotten, that highlight Villa's continuing progress.

A spell in Saturday's game at Fulham is a less obvious example, but it underlined the qualities that look like keeping Villa at the level they have now reached.

Fulham are strong at home and in good form, and for 20 minutes had troubled Villa. After Emi Martinez saved Andreas Pereira's penalty, there was a slow but relentless change. Almost imperceptibly at first, Villa increased the pace. They pressed a little harder without the ball; when they held it, the passing became quicker and sharper.

It crept up on Fulham. So assured at the start, they began to be harried into stumbles and mistakes. It reminded me of the dreaded bleep test in a school PE lesson decades ago; one moment you felt fine, then suddenly you were struggling, knowing there was no respite.

By half-time, it was still 1-1 in a high-quality game, but it had been a clear show of strength from Villa and the rewards came soon afterwards.

The best teams in England and Europe menace good opponents like this. Villa, almost by the week, are looking more like them.

Listen to full commentary of Aston Villa v Bournemouth at 15:00 on Saturday on BBC Radio WM [DAB/Freeview]

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We asked for your thoughts after Tuesday's Champions League game between Aston Villa and Bologna.

Here are some of your comments:

Peter: I’m not sure how far Villa can go in the Champions League but I’m just loving every moment so far. We waited a long time for this and Unai Emery is serving up a treat.

Paul: For the first time this season, Villa played in something like top gear. And with a changed line-up, it was seamless! Our squad is so strong - it's a great time to be a Villa fan. Morgan Rogers and Youri Tielemans were immense.

Dave: We look like we've been playing Champions League football for a solid decade, not in our maiden competition. Emery is too humble but the belief he has given us means the statue has to be coming. We are in a golden age for Villa.

Chris: Thoroughly professional performance by Villa. Got the job done. Only negative was Leon Bailey's contribution or should I say, lack of it! His confidence is shot to pieces at the moment. Once again, my man of the match was Morgan Rogers.

Paul: We’re scary at the moment. So powerful in midfield and confident at the back. No team in the world would fancy playing Villa just now.

Paul: I was in the Holte End and saw a very assured team performance yet again, and a Villa Park with a broad grin on its face. As for whether we can balance Premier League and Champions League? The best start to a Premier League season in 26 years and currently top of the Champions League... that's a great balance if you ask me!

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Former Premier League defender Matthew Upson says Aston Villa "are only going forwards" under Unai Emery and it is "an exciting time" for the club.

Villa's win against Bologna means they have won all three of their Champions League games and are yet to concede a goal.

"I just think it's amazing how Villa have started," said Upson on BBC Radio 5 Live's Football Daily podcast. "They are in a good place.

"Morgan Rogers is another piece of really shrewd recruitment. Where they see a fit for a player they bring them in and it doesn't matter what club they have been at. He is a young player but there is so much talent around him.

"It is a squad that can grow and having experienced players like Tyrone Mings coming back from injury is great.

"Under Emery, they are only going forwards so we are all really keen to see where they end up."

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Brighton and Arsenal are interested in Aston Villa's Poland Under-21 goalkeeper Oliwier Zych. (Telegraph - subscription required)

Want more transfer stories? Read Wednesday's full gossip column

Neil Johnston
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Reuters

Aston Villa are in Champions League dreamland.

With three of their eight games in the league phase ticked off, Unai Emery's side have a maximum nine points after following up wins over Young Boys and Bayern Munich with an impressive victory over Bologna.

On a another night to remember at Villa Park, the home side swept to the top of the 36-team league phase with matches against Club Brugge (away), Juventus (home), RB Leipzig (away), Monaco (away) and Celtic (home) still to come.

How many points do they require to automatically qualify for the last-16 stage?

Well, according to Opta's supercomputer, external 15 in the magic number.

That puts Villa in a really strong position.

This was Unai Emery's 25th win in the Champions League, becoming the fifth Spanish manager to achieve as many wins in the competition after Pep Guardiola, Rafael Benitez, Vicente del Bosque and Luis Enrique.

The question is: how far can he take Villa in this season's Champions League?

Image source, Getty Images

Former Aston Villa forward Garry Thompson speaking on BBC Radio WM after Villa's win over Bologna:

"The manager has come in and he has done an unbelievable job. He has brought in a few players and he has developed those players as well

"This is a team going in the right direction. We are becoming a force.

"There was a feeling about this game, whether they would maybe take the game too easy beforehand, and bologna came at them a bit.

"But this team, they are learning and they are learning very, very quickly.

"You have players like Ian Maatsen, who has not played an awful lot of football, coming into the team and does a superb job. Ross Barkley comes off the bench and does a good job, Jaden Philogene comes off the bench and does a good job. Then Morgan Rogers too, that kid is outstanding."

Image source, Getty Images

Aston Villa boss Unai Emery, speaking to TNT Sports: "We are playing seriously, we are playing focused, responsible and the team is progressing and mature in everything.

"We tried to break the press man to man. We conceded some things in the first 15 minutes but then reacted very well.

"It is always difficult at home in Europe. We have had to try and be consistent in our gameplan for 90 minutes and I think we did that today."

On substituting Amadou Onana at half time: "Tactical decision but as well he had some pain. [It is] not clear. I decided tactically and also not to take a risk with him."

On his strikers and Duran's reaction to being substituted: "They are working well. The commitment to help the team with quality and trying to understand as well.

“When he watched it, and thought we were going to change him, he accelerated and scored a goal – it was fantastic.

"He was wanting more because he was thinking he could score more goals. He did very good work and the last minutes is for Watkins and keep going."

Aston Villa are hitting the Champions League heights with a 100% record after their first three games.

Neil Johnston
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Reuters

Aston Villa are in Champions League dreamland.

With three of their eight games in the league phase ticked off, Unai Emery's side have a maximum nine points after following up wins over Young Boys and Bayern Munich with another impressive win over Bologna.

On a night to remember at Villa Park, the home side swept to the top of the 36-team league phase with matches against Club Brugge (away), Juventus (home), RB Leipzig (away), Monaco (away) and Celtic (home) still to come.

How many points do they require to automatically qualify for the last-16 stage?

Well, according to Opta's supercomputer, external 15 in the magic number.

That puts Villa in a really strong position.

This was Unai Emery's 25th win in the Champions League, becoming the fifth Spanish manager to achieve as many wins in the competition after Pep Guardiola, Rafael Benitez, Vicente del Bosque and Luis Enrique.

The question is: how far can he take Villa in this season's Champions League?

Image source, Getty Images

Aston Villa's Youri Tielemans, speaking to TNT Sports: "A brilliant win tonight. A tough opponent.

"The manager is really onto us. He wants us to keep raising the bar every game.

"I always try to improve myself. We had some really good work with the manager last year. He always gives us those challenges during the game, tonight we played a team who plays man to man and he challenged us to beat that."

On Jhon Duran: "Duran has everything, he has technique, he can hold the ball and can flick on. He is an all round striker. Morgan [Rogers] is more suited into the pockets. I joke with him calling him my pocket as I need him in those areas to get to my passes."

On Duran's reaction to being substituted: "He is really funny. The manager does not care. He knows everyone wants to play. It is part of the game."

Goalscorer John McGinn, also speaking to TNT Sports: "It is amazing. Obviously I missed out on the last night here at Villa Park [win against Bayern Munich] but three games in, three wins and most important for us is no goals conceded.

"We don't want to stop here. It puts us in a great position. Some players came back and now we look really strong.

"What we are building here is amazing.

"This is home for me. It is my seventh season here, we've had ups and downs. It has been a rollercoaster. Hopefully we can keep climbing."

Image source, Getty Images

Aston Villa's Jhon Duran became the first player to score in successive games for the club in the European Cup or Champions League since Gary Shaw scored in both legs of their last 16 tie with Dinamo Bucuresti in 1982- 83.

Were you at the game or following from elsewhere?

What did you make of Villa’s display?, external

Come back to this page on Wednesday to find a selection of your replies

Follow reaction and read the match report

Nine matches make up Tuesday's Champions League action, with Arsenal and Aston Villa both at home.

• AC Milan v Club Bruges (17:45)

• Monaco v Red Star Belgrade (17:45)

• Arsenal v Shakhtar Donetsk

• Aston Villa v Bologna

• Girona v Slovan Bratislava

• Juventus v Stuttgart

• Paris St-Germain v PSV Eindhoven

• Real Madrid v Borussia Dortmund

• Sturm Graz v Sporting

All kick-off times 20:00 BST unless stated

Follow all of the action and reaction here

Listen to Arsenal v Shakhtar Donetsk on BBC Radio 5 Live

Nick Mashiter
BBC Sport football news reporter

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Aston Villa have struggled to sell out for the Champions League visit of Bologna.

With home games against Bayern Munich, Juventus and Celtic to choose from the game against the Serie A side was always going to be fourth in line for supporters.

That is perhaps owing to their high ticket prices the club put out for the Champions League. An adult ticket for the game, which was available two hours before kick off, in the Upper Holte End is £94.

It does not mean there is no appetite for the game - especially with Villa enjoying their best start to a Premier League season in 26 years. Fans were arriving three hours before the game and were seen patiently waiting for Villa Park and the new fan zone - which is in the North Stand car park - to open.

Villa are chasing a third straight win after victories against Young Boys and Bayern and beating Bologna - 12th in Serie A with one win from eight games - would cement their place in the top eight and the automatic qualification spots for the last 16.

David Michael
Fan writer

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Aston Villa’s latest victory against Fulham marked the club’s best start to a Premier League campaign after eight games since the 1998-99 season.

Back then, John Gregory’s Villa team built on a strong finish from the previous season to reach the top of the table, sparking talk of a title challenge before fading around the turn of the year.

At the time, Gregory lamented the lack of squad depth, which he felt hindered a sustained push for the title. In contrast, a glance at Villa’s bench from their recent match suggests that Unai Emery’s side is far more equipped in that regard.

Aside from back-up goalkeeper Robin Olsen, Villa's squad enjoys a clean bill of health for the first time in recent memory.

With Villa now back in the top four and unbeaten in their past nine games across all competitions, the question of what this team can achieve this season is growing.

The answer will likely become clearer after their next three away league fixtures against Spurs, Liverpool, and Chelsea - key rivals for a top-four spot. Those games will stress-test both their unbeaten away record this season and provide some kind of insight into the true potential of the team.

Before that, their three remaining games in October - all winnable home fixtures - could set them up nicely across the Premier League (Bournemouth), Champions League (Bologna), and League Cup (Crystal Palace). Then, Villa face what may be the most defining two months of Emery's tenure so far.

It is after this period that we will likely know whether Villa fans can start talking about a title challenge for the first time in 26 years.

Find more from David Michael at My Old Man Said, external

Arsenal, Aston Villa and Newcastle are interested in Red Bull Salzburg's 20-year-old attacking midfielder Oscar Gloukh. (Caught Offside), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Tuesday's full gossip column

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Aston Villa defender Matty Cash is hoping his "dream" will come true against Bologna in the Champions League.

Villa take on the Serie A side in their third game of this season's top European cup competition on Tuesday.

Right-back Cash has yet to feature in the competition this campaign having been sidelined through injury for their first match against Young Boys and then left as an unused substitute in the memorable victory of Bayern Munich.

Having played in both Premier League matches since that night, he is hoping to be able to make his Champions League debut against Bologna.

"As a young boy, every boy's dream is to play at the highest level in football," Cash said in the pre-match news conference. "I have worked incredibly hard to get here.

"I had a spell at the World Cup, which is a major tournament and that was amazing. I made my Premier League debut four years ago, and now the Champions League.

"I'm really looking forward to it. I've dreamed of these moments as a young boy and so hopefully it comes."

Unai Emery's side are hoping to build on their opening two wins of the competition, with those victories leaving them sixth in the new-look Champions League table format.

The club have been transformed under former Arsenal boss Emery over the past two seasons and Cash cannot see any limits for this team.

"In the last four years since I joined, the club has just gone through the roof," said the Poland international. "The quality in every single department has gone up and the club has not got a ceiling.

"I think it can go all the way to the top. You can see that playing Champions League football has been a building block to get here. The manager has been a big part of that."

Nicola Pearson
BBC Sport journalist

Aston Villa boss Unai Emery has been speaking to the media before Tuesday's Champions League game against Bologna (kick-off 20:00).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Emery says it is "a challenge everyday and every match we are playing" to keep consistency in both the Premier League and Champions League.

• He added: "Getting the balance is the most important. Bologna is a new challenge to keep the same mentality and same performance and same preparation for the match."

• Emery said the return of players like Boubacar Kamara, Emi Buendia and Tyrone Mings is "very important" for playing multiple competitions: "Now is the moment we have to be intelligent with good preparation for everyone to try and help us be consistent over 90 minutes, 90 minutes and 90 minutes. I need to be critical of myself and how the players can be consistent physically and mentally playing the amount of matches we are."

• He added: "The mentality is to keep the same level as last year in the Premier League and same level we can have in Champions League. Champions league is more demanding than the Conference League and I am very proud of the work we are doing."

• On how he reflects on the past two years in charge: "The most important thing for us is how we are increasing our demands and facing more demands each year. The challenge is to get better everyday. We need to keep the same level we have now and keep it for a long time. It is difficult to do this when achieving objectives at a high level. We are working hard to keep this."

• He added: "I don’t want to waste my time here. You can waste your time here but we don’t want to waste time here. My objective here individually is to keep the same level now being in the Champions League and to add to it by being a contender for a trophy."

• Emery hopes against Bologna that they carry on showing "where we are, that we believe, that we can compete".

• After defender Matty Cash said the sky is the limit, the Villa boss added: "We need to be strong in our mind to get a strong mentality to break barriers, always."

• On facing their Italian opponents: "They played a fantastic match against Liverpool and deserved more against them. They have been competing in the same way. Because they only have one point [in Champions League] it is difficult for us because they want points like we need points. We are respecting them a lot, but trying to play tomorrow in the same way we have."

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BBC Sport chief football writer Phil McNulty has been answering your questions on all things Premier League.

Glenn asked: I’ve noticed there has been little or no mention of the chances of Aston Villa being contenders for the Premier League this season.

Already it’s being labelled as a three-horse race. If not Aston Villa, is there any other team you think has an outside chance of upsetting the apple cart?

Phil answered: Hello, Glenn. Speaking as someone who picked Aston Villa to finish fourth in my pre-season predictions, they have not surprised me at all.

I do think it will be between Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool but I think Villa will have another really good season. Do I see them as title contenders? To be brutally honest, no. Top four? Well I’ve said it and I stick by it.

Follow the rest of Phil's Q&A and the rest of Monday's football news here