Ollie Watkins' confidence blown to bits - Three decisions Unai Emery got wrong against Bologna
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Credit: Imago / Manh Tung - Breaking Media
Harri Burton
Thu 25 September 2025 22:13, UK
Unai Emery will still be expecting a much better reaction from his Aston Villa side despite a 1-0 win over Bologna.
Aston Villa are keen to tie John McGinn down to a new contract, and it was the Scotland international who opened the scoring at Villa Park on Thursday, 25 September.
Ollie Watkins appears to have fallen down Emery’s pecking order, and after missing a penalty to put the Villans two goals ahead, it is clear to see why.
The Villans certainly have Marco Bizot to thank for all three points in the Europa League, having made a key save at the death, and there are multiple areas where Emery can look to improve his team.
Unai Emery’s Aston Villa narrowly beat Bologna in the Champions League.
Credit: IMAGO.
Being benched on a huge European night is already bad enough for Villa’s striker, who has yet to hit the back of the net this season despite notching 31 goal contributions in all competitions last term.
To add to his woes, Emery allowed Watkins to take the penalty, and some might argue that it was only fair after he put in the hard work before being wiped out, but it was a dangerous call by his manager.
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Now, not only has the England international failed to make the intended impact from the bench, but the pressure will be crushing down on his shoulders even more after his mistake from the spot.
Villa were quick out of the blocks, with it quickly becoming evident that Emery had started with four in midfield and two ahead of them in Donyell Malen and Emi Buendia.
Emery’s side were frustrating behind the ball, forcing Bologna to push forward, before breaking out on the counter-attack, and they finally made it count from a resulting corner.
Donyell Malen made a hugely positive impact in the first half at Villa Park.
(Credit Imago)
However, for some unknown reason, the manager resorted to his normal formation during the first half, and had Bologna made the most of their domination, it could have been a very different result.
Supporters have been critical of Morgan Rogers for the opening few games, and despite his form dropping off a cliff in that time, Emery continues to put his faith in the 23-year-old.
But Rogers has struggled on the left flank, and even after moving into the No.10 role, it was not much better at Villa Park.
He completed just 39 per cent of his passes, had a single off-target shot, succeeded in none of his dribbles, was dispossessed five times, and won just 33 per cent of his ground duels [FotMob].
Instead of replacing him with Harvey Elliott, like many would have expected, he continued to misplace passes, frustrate those at Villa Park, and have very little positive impact for the Villans.