Bologna/Porto/Freiburg: The first legs of the UEFA Europa League quarterfinals delivered drama and decisive results, with Aston Villa and SC Freiburg taking commanding strides toward the semifinals on Thursday.
Villa take control in Italy
A clinical brace from Ollie Watkins powered Aston Villa to a 3-1 away victory over Bologna, giving Unai Emery’s side a strong advantage ahead of the return leg.
Villa capitalized on shaky set-piece defending, with Ezri Konsa heading in before the break. Watkins doubled the lead early in the second half, finishing calmly after a high turnover. Bologna pushed late and pulled one back through Jonathan Rowe, but Watkins struck again deep into stoppage time to restore Villa’s two-goal cushion.
The result leaves Villa well positioned as they chase a place in the last four.
Forest and Porto share spoils
Elsewhere, Nottingham Forest earned a valuable 1-1 draw away to FC Porto.
Porto opened the scoring through William Gomes, but the lead lasted only minutes. A bizarre long-range back pass from Martim Fernandes rolled into his own net, gifting Forest an equalizer.
The tie remains finely balanced heading into the second leg in England.
Freiburg close to historic semifinal
SC Freiburg produced one of the night’s most convincing performances, beating Celta Vigo 3-0 to put one foot in the semifinals.
Vincenzo Grifo opened the scoring early with a curling effort, before Niklas Beste doubled the advantage after a slick team move. Matthias Ginter sealed the win with a late header, capping a dominant display.
With commanding wins for Villa and Freiburg and tight contests elsewhere, the race to the Europa League semifinals remains wide open ahead of next week’s decisive matches.
Source: ESPN, The Score, UEFA Europa league
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