Europa League: Bologna starts with a defeat, McGinn decisive for Aston Villa.

Bologna's Europa League campaign began with a defeat. At Villa Park, Aston Villa won 1-0 thanks to a 13th-minute goal from McGinn. The English side dominated the first half, but in the second half, the Emilians grew and came close to equalizing several times, even hitting the crossbar with Castro.

Aston Villa-Bologna 1-0

The first chance came in the 6th minute when Guessand broke free and fired diagonally, but Skorupski saved. A few minutes later, Aston Villa took the lead with McGinn who collected a short clearance on the edge of the box and beat the Rossoblu keeper with a precise shot. In the 19th minute, Malen had a chance to double the lead, but Skorupski made a stunning save. The Dutchman remained in the spotlight in the 25th minute, blasting through the defense and finding Buendia, who narrowly missed the target. On the half-hour mark, Bernardeschi took the lead with a shot, but Bizot easily blocked it.

Italiano's team returned to the pitch with a different attitude, and Bernardeschi forced a save from Bizot after just a few seconds. In the 52nd minute, Cambiaghi broke away down the left and played a golden ball to Castro, who, however, spectacularly failed to make an impact. Bologna pressed on, and in the 15th minute, they almost equalized with consecutive attempts from Castro and Cambiaghi that failed to find the target. In the 23rd minute, Aston Villa had the chance to seal the victory with a penalty awarded for a foul by Vitik on Watkins. The English striker stepped up to the spot, but Skorupski saved.

A minute later, the Rossoblù came very close to equalizing with a perfect cross from Orsolini and a header from Castro that crashed against the crossbar. In the final minutes, Bologna tried with all their might, and in injury time, Vitik's header forced Bizot into a miraculous save that saved Aston Villa's victory. Ends 1-0.