It was a night to remember for Aston Villa, and in particular for Morgan Rogers, as the 22-year-old netted a superb hat-trick to book his side’s place in the next round of the UEFA Champions League. Fantasy quickly turned into reality for Aston Villa, with the club making the top eight of the league phase table, meaning they automatically qualify for the round-of-16.
The game had it all, with it taking just three minutes for Villa Park to erupt as Rogers grabbed his first of three before bagging his second just two minutes later. Celtic looked beaten; they looked as if they were going to settle for a round-of 16-playoff spot, but Adam Idah had other ideas, and a brace from the striker put his side right back into the thick of it, concluding an entertaining half.
Despite a spirited comeback from the Scottish side, Unai Emery’s side regained control in the second period, with Ollie Watkins pouncing to put Villa back ahead. A missed penalty moments later would be one he would rather forget sooner rather than later. Rogers wrapped up a perfect night for the team and for himself in stoppage time, sending the Villa fanbase home happy.
As it happened
The home side made a lighting quick start at Villa Park, and one that would settle many nerves. A swift move from theVillans saw Jacob Ramsey in space on the left-hand side, pulling it back to Morgan Rogers, whose finish was ruthless to find the back of the net and give his side the dream start.
Just two minutes later and only five minutes into the clash, Rogers found both his and Villa’s second of the evening. Ollie Watkins teed up his teammate with a pass into his stride on the edge of the box, with the 22-year-old taking one touch to set himself up, before rocketing a stunning strike into the top-right corner and giving Villa a huge boost in their hopes of securing an automatic spot in the next round of the tournament.
A year ago, Rogers was scoring goals for Middlesborough in the Championship. Fast-forward 12 months, and he’s now bagged a brace inside five minutes of a Champions League fixture. Football’s a funny old game, isn’t it?
Embed from Getty ImagesThe pressure from Aston Villa was relentless, not giving the visitors a sniff. Despite their two-goal lead, the injury list continued to grow for Unai Emery’s side, with Matty Cash forced off as John McGinn replaced him.
Celtic could count themselves lucky as the scoreline remained at 2-0 after thirty minutes, with Ollie Watkins having threatened to add a third, only to be denied by Allistair Johnston’s goal-line clearance.
Adam Idah gave his side a lifeline, with Celtic finally settling into the tie and keeping Villa on their toes by reducing the deficit. Greg Taylor’s deflected cross fell into the path of the Irish striker, who finished brilliantly to make it game on. Idah did well to connect with the ball in the air, wrapping his foot around it to find the back of the net.
Just like Villa stunned Celtic in the opening five minutes, the visitors played the uno reverse card here as they grabbed two goals in two minutes to draw the game back level. A touch of brilliance from Arne Engels unlocked the Villa defence, with a delicate flick into the path of Reo Hatate, who squared it to Idah to finish off the move to make it 2-2 at Villa Park.
That’s how quickly things can change in football, with Celtic managing to turn things around after a nightmare start. In just that two-minute spell, it saw Aston Villa drop to 13th in the table as it stood, proving the harsh and brutal nature of this new Champions League format.
Embed from Getty ImagesThere was an expectancy of more goals to come in the second half, with Emery likely to be frustrated with how his side dropped their two-goal advantage, whilst the reigning Scottish Premiership champions would feel they had the momentum to complete an unlikely comeback.
Shortly after the hour mark, Villa were able to breathe a sigh of relief as they re-took the lead in this crucial Champions League affair. Ramsey was the provider once more, after being played through by McGinn, with the forward finding Watkins in the middle, who was never going to miss. The England frontman made no mistake, smashing home for Villa’s third of the night.
Watkins should have scored another, with it a surprise that the English striker had spurned such a big chance to give his side some breathing room. A loose pass by Schmeichel was pounced upon by McGinn, with Watkins receiving the ball on the turn from his teammate, however his effort was fired straight at the Danish keeper, who could count himself lucky.
Just a minute later, Watkins had the chance to redeem himself and add a sixth goal to the evening’s scoreboard as a reckless tackle by Auston Trusty left the referee with no choice but to point to the spot. Most fans would have put their house on Watkins to score from the spot, but this miss was as remarkable as it was unfortunate. Just before making contact, he slipped, seeing the ball balloon well over the bar, after striking it with his non-kicking foot on the follow through.
Embed from Getty ImagesChances came once again for Watkins and Idah, with the tense and tight score of 3-2 meaning the game was still very much in the balance. Rogers looked destined to find his first ever Champions League hat-trick, but yet another save by Schmeichel denied the Englishman from lifting the ball over him. With Villa closing in on the win, fate was out of their hands, with the Barcelona vs Atlanta result having an effect on their position in the league table.
Rogers secured the win in stoppage time, meaning Villa would take all three points and Rogers would take the match ball home. The errors at the back from Celtic were bound to lead to a goal, with Rogers dealing the blow. Watkins unselfishly laid it off to Rogers, who had the whole goal to aim at, firing in the easiest of finishes to round off a successful night for the Villains.
Cheers rung around Villa Park as the result of Atlanta result came in, seeing Aston Villa automatically qualify for the round-of-16. It was a deserved victory for Emery’s side, who were able to bounce back and persevere with their second half performance, after their two-goal lead was cancelled out by an Idah brace in the first-half. Celtic are now set to play a mouth-watering game against Real Madrid or Bayern Munich, so things won’t get any easier for Rodgers’ side.
The lineups:
AVL: Martínez; Cash, Konsa, Kamara, Digne; Bogarde, Tielemans; Bailey, Rogers, Ramsey; Watkins.
CEL: Schmeichel; Johnston, Trusty, Scales, Taylor; Engles, McGregor, Hatate; Kühn, Idah, Yang.