Today our focus is on Aston Villa as they look to give England two winners in two years in The Europa Conference League.
Villa took time to settle back into Europe after a 13-year absence and went down 3-2 to Legia Warsaw in Poland before needing a 94th minute winner (the perfect time!) from John McGinn to overcome Bosnian side, Zrinjski. Villa fans, re-live the moment here. Villa then dominated in Holland with goals from Bailey, Tielemans, Watkins and McGinn as they comfortably beat AZ Alkmaar, before a 2-1 win against them in the reverse fixture.
Diaby and Moreno booked their place in the knockout stages by beating Legia Warsaw in a game overshadowed by crowd disorder from the Polish fans, meaning they couldn’t enter the stadium. This followed a long running dispute over tickets between the two clubs.
Villa confirmed top spot in their group with a draw in Bosnia setting up a last 16 clash with Ajax. Fans will have fond memories of a UEFA Cup group stage game against the Dutch giants back in October 2008. Villa won 2-1 on that night, with goals from Martin Laursen and Gareth Barry. The Villa faithful are hopeful for a similar outcome this time around.
