Ollie Watkins declared that he is ‘raring to go’ for Aston Villa‘s end-of-season run-in after his double gave them command of their Europa League quarter-final tie with Bologna.

Villa have one foot in the semi-finals after a 3-1 win at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara, despite spending much of the contest on the back foot.

Bologna appeared to have taken a first-half lead when Ezri Konsa deflected Santiago Castro’s effort over the line. 

But Villa were saved by the offside flag and made the most of that reprieve, Konsa heading them in front shortly before half-time after Bologna goalkeeper Federico Ravaglia flapped at a Youri Tielemans’ corner.

Excellent pressing from Emi Buendia teed up Watkins to make it 2-0 seven minutes into the second half, before Jonathan Rowe curled in the goal Bologna deserved in the 90th minute.

Yet a twist in the tale came with the last kick of the game, which was delivered by Watkins as he tapped in to restore Villa’s two-goal cushion after Bologna failed to defend another Tielemans’ corner.

Watkins hungry for more

Watkins was left out of the England squad for their final friendlies on home soil ahead of this summer’s World Cup.

But that omission has seemingly left Watkins feeling fresh as he aims to help Villa secure a place in the Premier League top four and claim their first trophy since the 1996 EFL Cup.

“It could’ve been different,” Watkins told TNT Sports. “They had a disallowed goal and if that turns and it was 1-0 and stayed that way it would’ve been a long way back for us. We got lucky. They played tough today.

“We got the goal from the set-piece and that kind of took the sting out of the game. They were dominant before that, but just before half-time is a great time to score. We got the second after half-time and then we felt we always were going to score more.

“Back end of the season I’m raring to go. I could play another 90 minutes. I’m excited for the next few games. I’m hungry.

“Their winger [Rowe] was causing problems tonight. Great finish for his goal and at 2-1 it’s all to play for. That other goal, taking a 2-0 lead back to Villa Park, makes it tough for them.

“We have to play like that very game. Like against West Ham [before the international break] we played well. We have to keep pushing, everyone around us is winning. We’re in a great spot at the end of the season and it’s all to play for.”

Set-pieces the priority for Aston Villa

Two of Villa’s goals came from excellent deliveries from corners from Tielemans, who returned after two months out with an ankle injury.

And manager Unai Emery revealed afterwards that they had placed an emphasis on dead-ball situations.

“Happy yes, but we are trying to get balance in everything,” Emery told TNT.

“We played the first leg here and won, and it is a fantastic result. How we did the 90 minutes, I can feel more or less good for some things and not too good for the others. A good result but we still have the second leg to play.

“First half we were a bit shy. We needed to try to do more passes, to get better positions in the attacking third but we were losing the ball easily. We were not conceding a lot but with a few moments we conceded. 

“Set-pieces are always important but today it was our priority defensively and offensively because we knew before the match that it would be one way to try to get something. In the first half we scored one goal, other chances as well.

“The result was much better than the match we played in the first half, but in the second half it was completely different. We dominated them and controlled the game like we planned to in the first half but we didn’t do, and we were feeling comfortable. We reacted well offensively when they scored.

“In the second leg they are going to try to suppress us and my message inside the dressing room is to keep playing the second leg with the same plan, well with the new plan we will have, but keep respecting them.”