Key events
Half-time entertainment:
Other half-times
Ferencvaros 0-1 Viktoria Plzen
Salzburg 0-0 Porto
Stuttgart 0-0 Celta Vigo
Utrecht 0-0 Lyon
Young Boys 1-3 Panathanaikos
HALF-TIME: Rangers 0-0 Genk
Another mess of a half from Rangers, but Butland has kept them level; now it’s Martin’s tur to earn his money.
BUTLAND SAVES!
Oh hits it hard enough, but Butland guesses correctly, diving right, the ball isn’t in the corner, he beats it away, and Gassama does just enough to keep Steuckers from scoring from the follow-up.
PENALTY TO GENK!
This’d cap another nightmare half for Russell’s Rangers. It’s Oh v Butland…
The pull-back starts outside the box then, inside the box, Tavernier clips Medina’s heels, inadvertently but nevertheless. I fear for Rangers.
At Ibrox, there’s now a VAR check for a Genk penalty, Tavernier having pulled back Medina. It’s not a big infringement and the attacker made the most of it, but the way things are going for Russell Martin, you almost assume the ref’ll give it.
HALF-TIME: Aston Villa 1-0 Bologna
Villa needed that, badly.
Villa will be pretty happy with their first half. They’ve scored a lovely goal, created some dangerous situations, and not looked likely to concede.
A few minutes ago, when the ref signalled he’d changed his decision having seen a replay, Russell Martin thought his team were getting a penalty; they weren’t and now his team are a man down. On the plus side, though, he does have some extremely luxuriant curtains.
RED CARD! Rangers have Diomande sent off!
He slides in on El Ouahadi, a kind of side-kick which introduces studs to ankle and calf. He probably didn’t mean any harm but it looks bad, is dangerous, and the ref doesn’t have much choice.
Rogers gets away and strides through the middle, delaying until he’s sure he can slide in Buendia outside him, but he telegraphs the pass and Zortea intercepts.
No! Tavernier is penalised for a push, so no penalty. It would’ve been harsh because the arm was up in the act if jumping, not to block the ball, but according to the laws, the ref would’ve hand no choice. In comms, Ally thinks the ref has copped out, but there are hands in the back, so.
At Ibrox, we’re checking for a penalty. Tavernier leaps to head a cross towards the far corner, it hits Kayembe on the hand and, though he was facing the other way, I think the ref will give this.
Gassard strides foerard and has Rogers free to his left, but he instead seeks Malen to the left, the pass is a little heavy, and the keeper is out quickly to dive at his feet.
I said Bologna were coming into it and they are, Bernardeschi coming in off the right and shooting low, but too close to Bizot.
But as I type, Cambiaghi slides a cross into the middle and Oh lunges, his shot deflected behind.
It’s an even game at Ibrox, the sides cancelling each other out. There’s a lack of quality in forward positions and I’d not be shocked if the game ends goalless.
GOAL! Young Boys 1-3 Panathanaikos (Janko 25)
Yes, that is the Saidy Janko, who you might remember from Manchester United reserves.
Buendia into Malen, who burrows into the box, but is soon crowded out, the keeper coming out to flick away at feet.
Bologna are enjoying a bit more possession now, Cambiaghi crossing and Ferguson sweeping over.
There are a lot of empty seats at Ibrox. Faor a club like Rangers, that is not sustainable; Martin will have to get them winning regularly, quicksmart.
GOAL! Young Boys 0-3 Panathanaikos (Zaroury 19)
Gosh, this could get messy.
A free-kick is curled into the Genk box, Soutta rheads across goal towards the side-netting … and Heynen hooks clear from under his own bar! That is fantastic defending.
GOAL! Ferencvaros 0-1 Viktoria Plzen (Durosimni 16)
A goal in Budapest.
GOAL! Young Boys 0-2 Panathaniakos (Zaroury 13)
Big trouble for the Swiss.
GOAL! Aston Villa 1-0 Bologna (McGinn 13)
Villa Park has its first goal of the season! The corner goes short and when the cross comes in, Rogers, unmarked should score. But he leathers fresh air then, when the ball is half-cleared to Mcginn on the edge, he gets his knee right over the ball and drives down on it, sending a skidding shot hard, straight and true, just inside the near post.
Buendia hares through the middle and finds Rogers; his outside-of-the-boot is humped behind.
Back at Ibrox, Mikey Moore – another I’m looking forward to watching tonight – has swept a shot over the top from the edge.
GOAL! Young Boys 0-1 Panathanaikos (Swiderski 10)
An early goal in Bern and it’s for the visitors.
It’s amazing how much Robbie Savage’s commentary has improved since he started coaching, you can tell he’s proper obsessed. He’s just explained how Bologna are “locking on in the press” having previously noted that Villa are almost playing a 4-2-2-2; “as you know, I love formations,” he adds. It’s a great development.
Villa Park hasn’t seen a goal yet this season, but Gassama gets away at inside-right, hangs on a little bit too long, and his shot from a tighter angle than is necessary, is saved.
But here come Genk again, El Ouahdi sliding in at the far post to send a finish over the top.
In comms, Robbie Savage says Villa Park is one of his favourite grounds and I agree, it’s one of mine, too; the Holte, when full, is one of the great ends and sights in English football. On which point, Ibrox is also a beautiful piece of work and, as I say every time it comes up, by far the noisiest ground I’ve been to, and I’ve been to a few. But Ranger are in trouble, Meghoma stepping up and allowing El Ouahdi in behind, but the shot that follows his cut-back is blocked by Tavernier.
And off we go!
Our teams come out at both Villa Park and Ibrox Stadium.
Here’s a Rangers in Europe story. Be very aware, it’s an absolute banger.
Martin explains that Chermiti is playing to add freshness and also that he “suits the game tonight”. The team are prepared but need to make it their kind of game and if they repeat Saturday’s performance, he believes they can win.
Final scores: Go Ahead Eagles 0-1 Steaua; Lille 2-1 Brann.
I’m intrigued to see how much dissent there is at Ibrox. It’s rare a manager turns around the kind of situation Russell Martin is experiencing, but as long as he’s got a job, he’s got hope. He’ll need a result tonight, you’d think.
Is Martin Keown superimposed?
As for Bologna, I’m keen to see how Lewis Ferguson gets on. He captained them to their Coppa Italia win, and will want to make an impression tonight.
I also really like Boubacar Kamara who, if he can stay fit, has lots of the right stuff. I don’t think there’s too much wrong at Villa, they’ve just forgotten how to score which has knocked their confidence. For that reason, I’m a little surprised Ollie Watkins has been dropped, because they badly need him firing – and don’t forget he also creates – but I’m sure Emery has his reasons.
Still missing for Villa: Amadou Onana, Ross Barkley and Youri Tielemans.
I’m looking forward to seeing how Morgan Rogers does tonight, for no reason other than I love watching him play. I really enjoy his physicality and imagination, and he looks the most likely difference between the sides.
Emery tells TNT that Martinez is injured, then explains that this is a good opportunity for Malen. Otherwise, he says Villa have been good at home, but European games are always difficult. It’s their dream to play in Europe, but they’ll have to do well to get a result.
I wonder if Emery spoke harshly about his players because he thinks they should win tonight; if he does it and they don’t, what else can he then say? I think they’ll have too much in midfield for Bologna, and if they can just get that first win, they’ve got more than enough to have a decent season.
So what of Genk? Well they’re third-bottom of the league and managed by Thorsten Fink, most famous for the clearance that led to this:
As for Rangers, they make one change following weekend victory over Hibs: Chermiti, making his full debut, replaces Miovski.
Bologna have a player called Heggem, more than enough excuse to remember this forgotten banger, scored for Liverpool by his namesake on Boxing Day 1998.
Back to our teams, Emery leaves out Martinez, Mings, Digne and Watkins; in come Bizot, Pau Torres, Maatsen and Malen.
Bologna, meanwhile, 11th in Serie A after beating Genoa 2-1 at the weekend, replace De Silvestri, Heggem, Miranda, Moro, Dominguez, and Orsolini with Zoertea, Lucumi, Lykogiannis, Ferguson, Odgaard and Cambiaghi.
Email! “I know that it’s a well-worn old chuckler, but hey ho,” begins Charles Antaki. “It still raises a smile when you see Go Ahead Eagles go behind.”
Teams!
Aston Villa (4-4-2): Bizot; Cash, Konsa, Pau Torres, Maatsen; Guessand, Kamara, McGinn, Rogers; Buendia, Malen. Subs: Proctor, Oakley, Lindelöf, Mings, Elliott, Watkins, Digne, Andrès García, Sancho, Bogarde, Burrowes.
Bologna (4-3-3): Skorupski; Zoertea, Vitik, Lucumi, Lykogiannis; Ferguson, Freuler, Odgaard; Bernadeschi, Castro, Cambiaghi. Subs: Ravaglia, Pessina, Holk, Moro, Orsolini, Rowe, Heggem, Dallinga, Miranda, Fabbian.
**
Rangers (4-3-3): Butland; Tavernier, Souttar, Cornelius, Meghoma; Diomande, Raskin; Moore; Aasgaard, Gassama, Chermiti. Subs: Kelly, Wright, Rothwell, Barron, Antman, Djiga, Miovski, Gentles, Danilo, Rice, Curtis, McCallion.
Genk (5-3-2): Van Crombrugge; El Ouhadi, Sets, Sadick, Kayembe, Medina; Hrosovsky, Bangoura, Heynen; Sreuckers; Oh. Subs: Mounganga, Ito, Karetsas, Bibout, Sattleberger, Nkuba, Mirisola, Yokoyama, Adedeji-Sternberg, Palacios, Kongolo, Erabi.
Latest scores: Go Ahead Eagles 0-1 Steaua Bucharest; Lille 1-0 Brann.
Preamble
For the first time since arriving at Aston Villa in 2022, Unai Emery finds himself under pressure. At the end of last season, his players were guilty of a complete no-show in their last game, against a Manchester United side that had just lost the Europa League final, which cost them a Champions League spot, and they’ve started this in similar vein, sitting third-bottom of the table and playing so badly their manager has already accused them of being lazy.
As such, today’s match with Bologna – whom Villa beat 2-0 in last season’s premier competition – is more important than it seems. After receiving such public and stinging criticism, if they cannot rouse themselves to deliver a performance tonight, then what?
Life at Villa Park, though, sounds like a joy relative to goings-on at Ibrox. Though Rangers managed their first win in six against Hibs last weekend, Russell Martin is still in a pickle – one that can only be resolved with a succession of good results and performances. In the meantime, any defeat could mean the end with tonight’s match with Genk the latest test of his survival instinct.
Add to that a selection of other matches, and we’ve a decent evening’s rubber-necking in prospect.
Kick-off: 8pm BST
