- Aston Villa dismantled Bologna 4-0 on Thursday night and 7-1 on aggregate in their Europa League quarter-final
- They will play Nottingham Forest in the semi-finals on the 30th April and 7th May
- Unai Emery has reminded his players that “there’s still work to do”
Aston Villa displayed a dominant performance on Thursday night, as they breezed past Bologna 4-0 to go through to the semi-finals of the Europa League. They hardly put a foot wrong, aside from a missed penalty, but made easy work of an ineffective attack by the Italian side.
It was a night for landmarks as Ollie Watkins scored his 100th goal for the club, cementing himself as one of the best strikers to play in claret and blue.
Their progress through the competition is nothing short of remarkable, with this result making them the first English side in history to win nine consecutive Europa League games.
It’s also their third consecutive season that Unai Emery has led them to the latter stages of a European tournament, having reached the semi-finals in the Conference League and the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
They’re well on their way to Istanbul, but have an all-Midlands clash against Nottingham Forest first.
Perfectionist mentality
In his post-match interview, Emery discussed how proud he is of the team’s performance, but also reminded them that there is still a long way to go for them to achieve their objectives.
“It’s fantastic, but there’s still work to do. How we enjoyed it today with our supporters, and the atmosphere they created here is really fantastic. The atmosphere was helping, with them being with us, feeling with us everything we were doing.
“They were transmitting their energy, and we were transmitting our energy as well, respecting the competition, respecting Bologna.
“We beat them, and now we must be happy with everything we are doing, but there’s still work to do and matches to play. The priority is still the Premier League.
“We are fourth, and we are playing on Sunday against Sunderland. A semi-final is something we must be proud of. How we got it two years ago in the Conference League, how we played last year in the quarter-final of the Champions League, and this year a semi-final of Europa League, I’m happy.
“I’m keeping balance because we must carry on being very demanding and achieving our consistency.”
Emery strives for perfection. Every little detail matters to him, and the success the Villans have achieved in the three-and-a-half years he’s been at the club is down to his mentality that it’s not over until all matches have been played. There is no time to dwell on a result; you reset and focus on your next opponent.
He’s no stranger to the crucial end of the Europa League, having won it four times previously. His experiences and knowledge in this competition have already taken Villa this far, but supporters will be hoping he can guide them through three more games, and make their lifelong dreams come true.
