Aston Villa soared into the UEFA Europa Conference League quarter-finals with a comfortable, historic 4-0 victory over Dutch giants Ajax on Thursday night. Finally finding a breakthrough and more after a dull and goalless first leg in Amsterdam, the Villans opened the scoring through Ollie Watkins in the first half and didn't look back, with Leon Bailey, Jhon Duran and Moussa Diaby making certain in the second period. Ajax forced a goalline clearance from Matty Cash on the verge of the interval but were otherwise fairly tame, allowing the men in claret and blue to march on.
Much of the attention will be away from the result on the night as top scorer and Premier League player of the season contender Watkins was substituted with an injury. The England international hurt his left knee after around 20 minutes, going to ground attempting to win possession from Ajax goalkeeper Diant Ramaj. After two or three minutes of treatment, Watkins carried on and scored an exquisite header from a Douglas Luiz corner – but he was withdrawn soon afterward after perhaps aggravating the issue.
Moussa Diaby had a good chance to score in the immediate lead-up to Watkins' opener when Ramaj fumbled an attempt to jump on a Morgan Rogers through pass. The ball somehow made its way through to Diaby and he had an open goal, albeit from a tight angle. The Frenchman took too long to pull the trigger, though, and it went behind. The resultant corner is when Watkins netted, so Diaby was excused. Rogers, in for his second Villa start, went close with a 20-yard effort a little later but it was Bobbey with the next big chance as he saw a close-range shot cleared away by Cash in the goalmouth.
"Every little thing is gonna be alright," sang the Ajax support in full voice after the break but their team lacked a creative spark and were soon given a mountain to climb. Villa doubled their lead as Bailey displayed excellent composure to take a Luiz pass into his path, conducted two stepovers and found the far corner with a cushioned finish. Things went from bad to worse for the visitors as Sivert Mannsverk was given his marching orders for a second yellow card in the 66th minute. The Norwegian could have no complaints whatsoever as he dragged back Duran, stopping him from running onto a dinked through pass.
Duran, Watkins' first-half replacement, was causing all sorts of problems with his runs in the channels but the Colombian will have initially been glad his teammates did the job of finishing chances. Duran had several opportunities - including a free header from a Luiz corner and a gaping chance from an Alex Moreno cross - but he couldn't find the net. That was, until, he silenced the doubters with a stunning strike from the outside the area. Duran pounced on Devyne Rensch's slip and unleashed a rocket, firing the ball off the underside of the crossbar and in. There were initial doubts but referee Orel Grinfeeld pointed to the centre circle to mark Villa's third.
The home fans, rather wholesomely, joined in with the Ajax songs after seeing their side go 3-0 up. The focus switched back to the game itself in the 82nd minute, though, as Diaby fizzed the Villans four in front with an emphatic strike. The winger controlled a Youri Tielemans threaded pass and was confident to take two touches before striking into the near side of the net. Villa, responding admirably to their 4-0 thumping from Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, advance to the quarter-finals in style. Here are our player ratings.
1. Emiliano Martinez - 7
Commanded his area well to maintain the clean sheet. Had a couple of comfortable saves to make but hardly challenged. Beaten by Brobbey nearing half time but was spared by Cash.
2. Matty Cash - 8
Cleared off the line at a crucial time, when Villa were still just 1-0 up. Beginning to look more assured at right-back for Villa, stepping up during a run of starts. Displayed good anticipation to intercept several Ajax forward passes and was progressive in possession.
3. Diego Carlos - 7 (off 74’)
Calm and collected at the back and a real presence in the air. Picked out one or two brilliant passes beyond the Ajax press.
4. Pau Torres - 7
Led the back four well, organising the offside trap and cutting out most through ball attempts. Hardly fazed by Brobbey despite the striker’s physicality.