Analysis: Villa move another step closer

Standing tall at Bologna's home ground is La Torre di Maratona - the Tower of Marathon - which was built to symbolise the resilience of athletes.

And Aston Villa were forced to embody that spirit as they produced a performance full of grit, discipline and resolve to gain the advantage.

It had been 18 days since Villa last played competitive football, a 2-0 win against West Ham on 22 March before the Premier League took a break for international football.

And it showed as Emiliano Martinez had to save his side's blushes by denying an acrobatic effort from left-back Juan Miranda before Santiago Castro and Scotland attacking midfielder Lewis Ferguson also went close for the Italians.

But appearing in their third European quarter-final in as many seasons, Unai Emery's men overcame a lethargic start to stamp their authority on the tie as a clinical display helped them go 2-0 up.

Coppa Italia holders Bologna threatened to mount a comeback with Federico Bernardeschi brushing the outside of the post in the 78th minute before Jonathan Rowe claimed a deserved goal.

But Ollie Watkins struck a devastating blow on the Italians late on, meaning Vincenzo Italiano's side will feel hard done by after generating 19 shots - compared to Villa's eight - and striking the woodwork twice.

It was Villa's eighth consecutive victory in the competition under four-time Europa League winner Emery and moves them another step closer to ending a 30-year trophy drought, which would also mean a return to the Champions League next season.

They will now feel confident of finishing the job in the return leg in Birmingham, where they have defeated the Rossoblu twice already over the past 18 months - a 2-0 in last season's Champions League and then 1-0 earlier this campaign.