Four things we learned after Aston Villa cruised into the quarter-finals of the Europa Conference League with a 4-0 victory over 10-man Ajax.
Unai Emery’s side bounced back perfectly from the 4-0 defeat to Spurs. It was a comfortable victory for Villa with the hosts being in control throughout the tie.
The round-of-16 match pitched two of the favourites for the tournament up against each other early on. After a 0-0 draw in Amsterdam, Villa were favourites to go through at Villa Park.
However, Emery’s side were ruthless against the young squad led by Jordan Henderson. Ollie Watkins put Villa 1-0 up at half-time before Leon Bailey, Jhon Duran and Moussa Diaby finished the game off.
Below, we explore four things we learned from Villa’s latest mauling in Birmingham.
Ollie Watkins steps up again
Even though he was barely on the pitch for 30 minutes, Watkins once again stepped up for Villa. The Englishman has been on fire for the Birmingham side this season. This has seen calls for Watkins to win the Premier League Player of the Season.
His form has now continued into Europe. Despite picking up an injury early in the first half, the striker managed to stay on long enough to glance a header into the net off a corner.
The first goal was always going to be important against Ajax and thankfully, Watkins ensured it came for the hosts at Villa Park.
With the English international forced off less than 10 minutes later, hopefully, he will be back for the weekend.
Leon Bailey’s unpredictability strikes again
After a poor performance against Spurs, many were looking to Bailey to bounce back on Thursday night. Brought back into the starting XI in Europe, the winger made the most of his chance.
Bailey made the Ajax defender’s time in Birmingham hell. His trickery was unmatched and he expanded the game constantly in Villa’s favour.
He then finished the tie off on the hour mark with a sensational goal to make it 2-0 and put Villa in the last eight.
John McGinn set to be a big miss
Another man who really stepped up after the Spurs game was John McGinn. The Scotsman was sent off for a reckless challenge against Tottenham which only confounded the host’s misery.
Against Ajax, McGinn completely dominated the match. The visitors could barely lay a glove on Villa and this was mainly thanks to the midfield control.
With some massive games coming up in the Premier League, Villa will be looking for maximum points to increase their Champions League ambitions.
However, McGinn will not be available for Villa’s next three Premier League games. Based on his performance this season and against Ajax, this will be a big miss.
Aston Villa send big message to remaining Conference League opponents
Ajax may have been having a poor season in the Netherlands, however, they were still an opponent to be feared.
Yet, by the end of the tie, Villa had completely swept the European giants aside to reach the quarter-finals.
With the draw set for Friday, not one team left in the competition will want Villa in the next round.
The cup is thoroughly in Villa’s hand and after that performance, only themselves can stop them from winning their first major trophy since the 1990s.
