Aston Villa learn four possible last-16 opponents as they bypass playoff with Celtic win
Aston Villa learn four possible last-16 opponents as they bypass playoff with Celtic win
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Morgan Rogers has enjoyed some 12 months. Last night, his remarkable year included a Champions League hat-trick. It was this time last year that Unai Emery gave Middlesbrough £7m for the strong-running midfielder. Since then, he’s taken his Premier League bow, scored in the competition, helped Villa reach the Champions League, make his international debut.
And he carved out his own special niche by collecting a hat-trick in European football’s Blue Ribband competition. The bigger picture is that it helped Villa avoid a play-off game after a night that Emery’s men spent on a knife-edge. These occasions can sometimes fail to live up to the hype. This didn’t. Almost from the first whistle here were two sides determined to enjoy a game that, dare one say it, was fast, frenetic and had an edge.
Two Villa goals in the opening five minutes set the tone. Celtic hit back with a quick-fire double of their own before the break. Watkins poked Villa’s noses in front on the hour. And then, given a heaven-sent opportunity to settle the game sent a penalty into the heavens.
Nerves? Frayed. Certainly with the hosts eyeing a spot in the top eight to prevent a play-off spot, they were. For the visitors, there was that small matter of long-standing cross-border rivalry. In short, it mattered. However, after five minutes there was little evidence of the drama to come. Battle of Britain? It looked more like a stroll in the (Villa) Park. That was all the time needed for the hosts to find the net. Twice.
