Aston Villa take control of Europa League quarter-final with 3-1 win over Bologna

Aston Villa moved a step closer to the Europa League semi-finals after a 3-1 victory over Bologna in the first leg of their quarter-final on Thursday.

Ollie Watkins scored twice for Villa, while Ezri Konsa added the third goal. Jonathan Rowe scored Bologna’s only goal in the match played in Italy.

The result keeps alive Villa’s hopes of winning a major trophy for the first time in 30 years. The English club last lifted silverware when they won the League Cup three decades ago.

Elsewhere in the competition, Freiburg produced a dominant performance at home to beat Celta Vigo 3-0. The German side extended their impressive home record in the Europa League to 10 consecutive wins.

Celta now face an uphill battle to overturn a three-goal deficit in the second leg.

In another quarter-final tie, FC Porto and Nottingham Forest played out a 1-1 draw, leaving the contest evenly poised ahead of the return fixture.