Aston Villa player ratings vs Bologna – John McGinn fantastic but Ollie Watkins shocking
Aston Villa won for the first time this season as John McGinn’s first-half goal was enough to see off Bologna in their maiden Europa League outing of 2025-26.
Aston Villa began the game with the intent to take an early lead, and they did just that as a failed corner routine saw Charalambos Lykogiannis’ clearance fall to John McGinn and he lashed the ball home from outside the box in the 13th minute.
Bologna had the better of the chances instantly after the break as Federico Bernadeschi tested Marco Bizot, yet Villa could have been two to the good with 22 minutes of normal time left as Ollie Watkins won and took a penalty, but his poor spot-kick was saved by Lukasz Skorupski.
The visitors nearly made him pay not long after as Santiago Castro’s header cannoned off the crossbar after he had lost his marker from a cross, but Villa could have had another late on as Lucas Digne and summer loan signing from Man United Jadon Sancho each wasted good chances.
Aston Villa player ratings against Bologna
Marco Bizot – 7
Never once put a foot wrong throughout as he claimed or met every high ball with authority. Was not properly tested in terms of actual shots on goal.
Matty Cash – 6
Rightly booked before the break for a bad tackle on Nicolo Cambiaghi, then was caught out of position a few times in the second half too, but did improve attacking-wise and was a threat alongside Guessand.
Ezri Konsa – 7
Looked concerningly shaky in the first-half while trying to play it out, but recovered to largely keep Castro at bay in the second period.
Pau Torres – 6
Also struggled with Bologna’s pressing game in the opening stages but looked a lot more assured as the game went on.
Ian Maatsen – 6
Rarely got forward well like he can do down the flank, and was caught out by Bernadeschi on a number of occasions as he cut in and got three shots off on his left foot.
John McGinn – 9
Brilliant finish for a much-needed opener as he lead by example as the captain and turned out to notch the decisive goal in a much-needed first win of the season for Villa.
Boubacar Kamara – 7
Kamara was at the heart of everything positive for the hosts as he kept the game ticking well at the base of midfield and was rarely caught in possession.
Morgan Rogers – 4
Lacklustre. Tried to get his side moving up the pitch but failed to find that killer pass or shot throughout and looked completely devoid of confidence.
Evann Guessand – 6
Gave up a great one-on-one chance early in the game which he should have buried, but was a threat down the right side throughout despite looking raw and sometimes lacking quality.
Emi Buendia – 5
Anonymous. Emery has put a lot of faith in Buendia at the start of this season and it continued not being repaid here as he lost the most duels in the game (7) and only created one chance [Fotmob] before going off.
Donyell Malen – 5
Couldn’t get shots off when he wanted to despite making some decent runs into good areas of the final third. Doesn’t have the quality in front of goal to be a number nine.
Substitutes
Ollie Watkins (on for Malen 58′) – 2
Watkins is known to not be happy at Villa, and it showed here as he won the penalty with a decent run in behind and turn of pace, but undid all his hard work with a poor spot-kick straight down the middle to give Skorupski a simple save.
Jadon Sancho (on for Buendia 58′) – 6
Got into some decent positions but wasted his chances in front of goal. Looks ready to start in the games to come.
Lucas Digne (on for Maatsen 75′) –
Provided a better attacking threat than Maatsen as the game became more open in the latter stages.