Aston Villa expose Newcastle mistakes as Rogers personifies rapid rise for Emery’s CL table-toppers

Lewis Oldham
Aston Villa Bologna Champions League
Jhon Duran celebrates scoring for Aston Villa.

Aston Villa have what could have been Newcastle United’s and Unai Emery’s side are making unnervingly easy work of their Champions League return…

 

We’ve ranked Steven Gerrard to Unai Emery as the second-best manager upgrade in Premier League history and he’ll snatch the top spot if/when Aston Villa maintains their current mindblowing antics domestically and in Europe.

Villa’s freakish upward ascent from being a side battling relegation to being ‘protagonists’ in the Champions League is perfectly personified by the sudden emergence of Morgan Rogers, who only made his Premier League debut in February.

The former Middlesbrough starlet joined Villa for £8m (rising to around £15m with add-ons) and was rashly written off as a pointless addition in the winter. However, this once-underwhelming signing has made the remaining doubters of the Emery regime look foolish.

A la Anthony Gordon, the England international in-waiting has abruptly shut up critics after securing a transfer as the ever-impressive forward has been one of the standout players in the Premier League AND Champions League this term.

Eight months on from being a Championship player, Rogers is way ahead of schedule and is already looking equally at home in the Premier League and Champions League as he takes each increasingly difficult test in his stride and passes with flying colours.

His strength and flair are perhaps his greatest assets; he has the ability to go right to the very top and was at the centre of everything good that came from Aston Villa on another magical night in the Champions League against Bologna.

The pre-match pyro was a suitable precursor to the latest Champions League night at Villa Park and the home supporters will have watched on with immense pride as their players once again proved that they belong at this level.

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Bologna are not the side they were last year under innovative head coach Thiago Motta, but – as they proved in spurts against Liverpool – they remain a testing adversary who should not be taken lightly. This is especially the case for a side in Aston Villa, who are still cutting their teeth at this level of football.

But Emery is a head coach who does not accept mediocrity and his side resembled seasoned Champions League veterans on a night which could have easily been a lot more uncomfortable.

While Newcastle United perhaps made the biggest mistake of the summer to avoid breaching PSR, Aston Villa also did some wheeling and dealing to avoid a points deduction despite being ‘hours away’ from being sanctioned at one worrying moment.

But, unlike Premier League rivals Newcastle, Villa’s hierachy knew adequate recruitment was as vital as balancing the books. They stuck to their guns and this policy ensured Emery came into this season with a far stronger squad than he had at the end of last season.

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So after Aston Villa moved into the top-four with an eye-catching 3-1 away win at Fulham at the weekend, Emery was able to make four changes for the Bologna clash.

Teams of Villa’s stature could be forgiven if there is a drop off in performance level when the drafted in back-ups are not as strong as the starters.

Ollie Watkins, Jacob Ramsey, Lucas Digne and Matty Cash were benched, but Jhon Duran, John McGinn, Ian Maatsen and Ezri Konsa slotted in seamlessly as Villa prodiced on another grand occasion.

The two rivals exchanged chances during a hotly-contested opening half, but Villa took a deserved lead in the 55th minute.

This came in somewhat fortunate circumstances as McGinn – who was returning from injury – curled in a teasing free-kick from the right flank which evaded everyone in the box and nestled in the corner of the net to break the deadlock.

Rogers and super-sub Duran combined well all night long and the forward pair came together for Aston Villa’s second.

While Rogers’ inconsistent finishing is one of the only things he lacks, he put in a pinpoint cross for Duran, who got in front of his man and converted with cute flick past Bologna goalkeeper Lukasz Skorupskui.

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And that was job done for Aston Villa, whose habit of winning has carried over into the Champions League as they have made a perfect start after three games.

Emery is on the brink of his two-year anniversary as Aston Villa boss and their supporterts will be counting their lucky stars as they become acustomed to routine wins in the Champions League while topping the 36-team table.

The role of flourishing Premier League side gatecrashing the domestic and European elite was there for the taking for Newcastle United following PIF’s takeover and their fasttracked Champions League qualification.

But Newcastle have been let down by those in the posh seats, with their four-game winless Premier League run exposing their reality as they face up another frustrating season.

Newcastle United’s loss is Aston Villa’s gain, though. Emery’s side acted how the Magpies should have in the summer. They are now firmly ahead of their Premier League rivals in the Big Eight power rankings and with PSR/FFP fears still lingering, this is likely to remain the case for some time as the Villans are back in the heavyweight mix and here to stay.