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Emiliano Buendia has been directly involved in six goals for Aston Villa in the Europa League this season At a glance Ollie Watkins scores his 100th Aston Villa goal 16 minutes in Morgan Rogers has penalty saved by Bologna goalkeeper Federico Ravaglia But Villa double their lead through Emiliano Buendia Rogers ends 11-match goal drought with Villa's third Ezri Konsa seals the 4-0 victory in the 89th minute Villa to face fellow Premier League side Nottingham Forest in semi-finals PLAYER RATER Aston Villa set up an all-English Europa League semi-final with Nottingham Forest after completing a commanding 7-1 aggregate victory against Bologna at Villa Park. Already 3-1 up from the first leg, tournament favourites Villa produced a statement display under four-time Europa League-winning manager Unai Emery to take another step closer to ending a 30-year trophy drought. It only took the Premier League side 16 minutes to increase their advantage in the tie as Ollie Watkins - the star of the first leg - applied the finishing touch on a wonderful team move to score his 100th goal for the club in all competitions. Morgan Rogers then had his spot-kick saved by Bologna goalkeeper Federico Ravaglia after Martin Vitik's handball inside the box but Villa pulled away further 44 seconds later through Emiliano Buendia. With the Bologna defence switching off, Buendia latched on to Lucas Digne's long throw and slotted past Ravaglia for his second goal in Europe this season. Rogers then put the disappointment of his penalty miss behind him as he found the back of the net from a narrow angle with his weaker left foot after being found in space by his captain John Mc Ginn - ending his 11-game goal drought. Centre-back Ezri Konsa then added to his first-leg goal with an impressive volley on the turn following a corner to seal the victory in the 89th minute. Villa's third win over the Rossoblu at Villa Park in 18 months secured their second European semi-final in three seasons and a first all-English semi in Europe since Arsenal and Manchester United met in the 2008-09 Champions League. The first leg of their last-four tie against Forest will be played in Nottingham on 30 April before the return leg in Birmingham on 7 May, while Portugal's Braga face Bundesliga side Freiburg in the other semi-final. Spectacular European nights the new normal for Villa under Emery Ollie Watkins is now Aston Villa's all-time top scorer in Europe with 10 goals Villa did much of the hard work in the first leg where they ran out 3-1 winners in Italy. Watkins struck twice - including a decisive goal in 94th minute - to give Villa a firm grip on the quarter-final tie and his timing was impeccable again at Villa Park, opening the scoring early to allay any fears of an improbable Bologna comeback. Finishing off a slick team move which involved nine Villa players, Watkins became the 11th player to hit 100 goals for the club and the first since Peter Mc Parland in 1962 to reach the milestone. He also became their outright top scorer in major European competition with 10 goals, overtaking Peter Withe and Mc Ginn. Since his Villa debut on 15 September 2020, only Mohamed Salah (159) and Erling Haaland (157) have scored more goals than Watkins in all competitions. With five goals in seven matches now, he did his chances of making it to England's World Cup squad no harm with another clinical display as Villa's main attacking figure as they chase their first major continental honour since winning the European Cup in 1982. They have barely had to break a sweat in the competition on their way to the last four with an unexpected 2-1 defeat by Go Ahead Eagles in the Netherlands the only blip in an otherwise spotless campaign. With seven wins in eight league stage fixtures, they finished level on 21 points with table toppers Lyon before overcoming Lille 3-0 on aggregate in the last 16. But they stepped up a gear in the semi-final second leg against Bologna, the reigning Coppa Italia champions managed by Vincenzo Italiano, who guided Fiorentina to back-to-back Conference League finals in 2022-23 and 23-24. English winger Jonathan Rowe had created plenty of problems for Villa in the first leg but this time, Emery's side were almost flawless, dealing calmly with what little threat that came their way while proving ruthless in front of the goal yet again. With their striker in full flow, John Mc Ginn back fit to add energy and leadership to the midfield and Rogers ending his goal drought, Villa look more than capable of going all the way and claim their first continental trophy in 44 years. How 10 Premier League teams could qualify for Europe Villa & Forest progress - relive eight iconic all-English European ties A tough season, playing angry, and messaging Michael Owen The Football Interview - Ollie Watkins Villa will now turn their attention to the Premier League when they host Sunderland on Sunday, 19 April (14: 00 BST). Bologna, meanwhile, will next make the trip to Juventus in Serie A on Sunday, 19 April (19: 45). After the opportunity to rate players has closed, the score displayed represents the average from all the submissions by BBC Sport users. Comments can not be loaded To load Comments you need to enable Java Script in your browser Manager: Unai Emery Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 Manager: Vincenzo Italiano Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 Manager: Unai Emery Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 Manager: Vincenzo Italiano Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 UEFA Europa League All competitions All competitions All competitions Aston Villa have kept five consecutive home clean sheets against Italian clubs in major European competition – the last player to score at Villa Park for an Italian team was Zbigniew Boniek in a 2-1 Juventus win in the European Cup in March 1983. Since beating West Brom 3-1 at the Hawthorns in March 1967, Bologna have lost their five away visits to England in all European competition. They’ve lost to Leeds (1967, Fairs Cup), Fulham (2002, Intertoto Cup), Liverpool (2024, UEFA Champions League) and Aston Villa twice (2024, UEFA Champions League & 2025, UEFA Europa League). Aston Villa have won 15 of their last 17 home major European matches (D1 L1), winning their last eight in a row. They’ve won five of their last six in the knockout stages at Villa Park, losing 4-2 to Olympiakos in the other in May 2024 in the Conference League. Since losing 1-0 at Aston Villa in September this season, Bologna have won all five of their away matches in the UEFA Europa League. In the history of the UEFA Cup/ Europa League, only Hamburger SV in 2008-09 and FC Porto in 2010-11 have ever won six away games in a single season. Aston Villa have won 10 of their first 11 UEFA Europa League games this season (L1), with Chelsea in 2018-19 and Villarreal in 2020-21 the only teams to match that feat in a campaign, both of whom went on to win the tournament in those respective editions. Bologna lost 3-1 in the first leg against Aston Villa, the second UEFA Europa League in a row that they have conceded three goals – only one of the 67 teams to lose the first leg of a two-legged knockout tie in the competition by 2+ goals at home have gone on to progress, with Sevilla overcoming Real Betis in the 2013-14 round of 16 (0-2 home, 2-0 away, 4-3 on penalties). Ollie Watkins has scored nine goals in major European competition for Aston Villa and could be the first player to reach 10 goals for the club (John Mc Ginn and Peter Withe also 9); he could also be the second Villan to net in three consecutive European starts after John Mc Ginn (a run of 4 between April 2025 and March 2026). Bologna’s Jonathan Rowe has recorded the most ball carries of 5+ metres ending in a shot in the knockout stages of this season’s UEFA Europa League (8, 2 goals), as well as attempting (23) and completing (11) the most dribbles of any player.   Attempt missed. Santiago Castro (Bologna) right footed shot from outside the box is too high. Assisted by Simon Sohm. Nikola Moro (Bologna) wins a free kick in the attacking half. Foul by Amadou Onana (Aston Villa). Delay over. They are ready to continue. Delay in match because of an injury Martin Vitík (Bologna). Second Half begins Aston Villa 3, Bologna 0. Substitution, Bologna. Nadir Zortea replaces João Mário. Substitution, Bologna. Simon Sohm replaces Remo Freuler. Substitution, Bologna. Riccardo Orsolini replaces Federico Bernardeschi. First Half ends, Aston Villa 3, Bologna 0. Foul by Lewis Ferguson (Bologna). Ezri Konsa (Aston Villa) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Federico Bernardeschi (Bologna) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Foul by Morgan Rogers (Aston Villa). Fourth official has announced 2 minutes of added time. Corner, Aston Villa. Conceded by Martin Vitík. Foul by João Mário (Bologna). John Mc Ginn (Aston Villa) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Corner, Aston Villa. Conceded by Martin Vitík. Goal! Aston Villa 3, Bologna 0. Morgan Rogers (Aston Villa) left footed shot from the left side of the box to the centre of the goal. Assisted by John Mc Ginn. Copyright © 2026 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.