- Aston Villa host Bologna on Thursday night in the second leg of their Europa League quarter-final
- Ahead of the match, Youri Tielemans discussed the importance of starting fast, and how grateful the players are for the supporters
- The Villans currently lead 3-1 on aggregate
Youri Tielemans has reflected on how the Aston Villa supporters have pushed his team “over the line” at times this season, and how the players want to maintain the positive feeling they’re in.
The Belgian’s importance to the squad became clear when he was sidelined with an ankle injury for nearly eight weeks, and Villa’s form began to dip throughout that time.
Since his return, a positive mood has been restored around the club, and now the excitement of qualifying for the Champions League has been growing.
Unai Emery’s side currently sits in fourth place in the Premier League, three points ahead of Liverpool in fifth and seven points in front of Chelsea in sixth. Whilst also progressing through the Europa League, Villa have two routes to securing their objective of playing in Europe’s elite competition.
In his pre-match press conference, Tielemans spoke about how the players don’t take the fans’ support for “granted”, as Villa Park has become a something of a fortress during Emery’s time at the club.
“It is massively important, our supporters, and in our home, we know how strong we can be, but it’s mainly due to them, because they just push us over the line sometimes, and to have them behind us and listening to that noise, it’s special.
“As players, we don’t take it for granted when they’re there for us; it’s really good and important for us.”
He also discussed how they want to keep the positive feeling that they’re in.
“I think we can feel (that) we’re in a good moment. We’ve got some momentum. We’re playing for the highest places in the Premier League and then a Quarter-Final in the Europa League, but we’re aware of where we are.
“We know our qualities, and we deserve to be there because we work hard for it, and we got some really good results over the last few months. It’s just a good time for us, and we just want to keep it until the end of the season.”
Need a fast start
In the first leg of the tie, Bologna put Villa under pressure and looked likely to score the opener. Having started the game slowly, and sloppily in possession, the 28-year-old owed it to not playing a match in nearly three weeks.
“Last week was our first game back after the international break. We have to take that into consideration, knowing that we hadn’t played at the weekend, and that first game back is always getting back into rhythm, playing together, being used to playing together.
“We had a bit of a slow start in the first half, and they had a goal disallowed, but we work really hard on keeping that line, and it paid off (in) that moment.
“We scored just before half-time, so that put us well in the game. Other than that, I don’t think we conceded many chances apart from that crossbar, maybe, but it’s true that we had a bit of a slow start and tomorrow we can’t have it.”
The first goal of the match will be crucial in determining how comfortable the rest of the game will be for Villa. They know the dangers Bologna pose, especially Jonathan Rowe on the left-hand side, so ensuring they remain defensively solid, as they did in the opening leg, is paramount.
