Aston Villa currently sit at the top of their Champions League group with nine points from three games. Unai Emery’s side are yet to even concede a goal in the UEFA competition and hype is growing around Europe for the club’s rise to prominence.
Tuesday evening saw them beat Bologna 2-0, the Italian club’s second Champions League defeat in England this season, having previously narrowly lost to Liverpool.
Gazzetta dello Sport report Bologna need to learn how to respond to adversity during a match, specifically going a goal behind. There’s been a lot of changes at the Italian club since last season, not least seeing manager Thiago Motta go to Juventus and be replaced by Vincenzo Italiano.
As far as match ratings go, Gazzetta gave Italiano 5.5/10 and Emery 7.
When it comes to the players, John McGinn was named Il Migliore (The Best) and given 7/10: ‘A performance full of commitment and right decisions.’
Aston Villa’s ‘Il Peggiore’ (The Worst) was Leon Bailey, at 5/10, with Gazzetta saying: ‘Too vague in attack, he always manages to create confusion and make the wrong decision.’
Youri Tielemans got a 7, with the rest on 6.5, apart from Emiliano Martinez and Ollie Watkins, who both got 6, and Ross Barkley who was awarded 5.5.
