Playing in a European quarter-final for a third successive campaign, Villa didn’t have it all their own way in Bologna, very much easing their way into the contest.
After a low-key start to proceedings, it was the hosts who established some momentum, with Jonathan Rowe at the heart of their attacking play.
The winger appeared to have helped his side to a 26th-minute advantage when he carried the ball forward and teed up Santiago Castro, whose deflected first-time effort looped over Emiliano Martinez before creeping over the line, only for VAR to disallow the goal for offside.
Undeterred, he then supplied captain Lewis Ferguson with a delightful outside-of-the-boot cross that was agonisingly turned onto the underside of the crossbar.
The Villans eventually took heed of those warnings, beginning to carry more of a threat as John McGinn bent a strike narrowly wide of the near post.
And with half-time fast approaching, Federico Ravaglia - deputising for the injured Lukasz Skorupski - misjudged the flight of a Youri Tielemans corner, allowing Ezri Konsa to nod his first goal of the season into an empty net.
That opened the door for Villa, who capitalised on another mistake shortly after the break when Emiliano Buendia pressed Torbjorn Lysaker Heggem into losing the ball in his defensive third, where Ollie Watkins immediately punished him with a cool finish through the legs of Ravaglia.
Bologna’s period of first-half dominance was now firmly in the past as the Premier League side maintained control of the tie, often looking the more likely to net the game’s third goal.
A period of late pressure paid dividends for the hosts, who cut the deficit to one goal as Rowe finally bagged the goal he deserved with a jink inside and a well-taken strike beyond Martinez’s reach.
Yet a stoppage-time header from Watkins from a corner restored that two-goal cushion, handing the Rossoblù a sizable task when they travel for the second leg in England, with their 11-match UEL unbeaten run now at an end (W7, D4).
For Villa, it’s now eight straight victories in the UEL for Unai Emery’s men, who have won four of their last five in all competitions as they look to rebuild some momentum at this crucial part of the season.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Jonathan Rowe (Bologna)
