16/05 - 20:00
Aston Villa, as was expected, comfortably dispatched of an inexperienced and really underwhelming Ajax side at Villa Park to progress into the quarter-finals of the UEFA Europa Conference League.
LINEUPS
ASTON VILLA XI: Martinez; Cash, Diego Carlos, Pau Torres, Alex Moreno; Bailey, Douglas Luiz, McGinn*, Rogers; Diaby, Watkins
ASTON VILLA SUBS: Olsen, Gauci, Lenglet, Kesler Hayden, Digne, Tielemans, Iroegbunam, Kellyman, Jhon Duran
AJAX XI: Ramaj; Sutalo, Kaplan, Hato; Rensch, Henderson*, Mannsverk, Borna Sosa; Hlynsson, Taylor; Brobbey
AJAX SUBS: Rulli, Pasveer, Medic, Gaaei, Van den Boomen, Vos, Fitz-Jim, Tahirovic, Forbs, Rijkhoff, Godts
Action: Aston Villa were the better side in the opening stages and that should well have been the case against an Ajax side struggling to stay in the top five in the Eredivisie.
After receiving treatment, Ollie Watkins did then open the scoring for the host on the 25-minute mark when he rose highest to head home Douglas Luiz’ corner.
The forward, who is enjoying an exceptional personal season and was named in Gareth Southgate’s England squad this afternoon, then had to be forced off due to injury in the 33rd minute before Ajax made a tactical switch to bring on Chuba Akpom for defender Ahmetcan Kaplan about five minutes later.
Ajax very nearly got themselves back level before half-time via Brian Brobbey but it was cleared off the line by Poland international right-back, Matty Cash.
Villa upped the ante in the second-half and did eventually run out emphatic winners, as should have been the case throughout the first three quarters of the tie.
They made it 2-0 on the hour mark when the impressive Leon Bailey ran straight at the Ajax back-line in the box, shifted the ball on to his right foot and slotted confidently past Diant Ramaj.
Things became even more difficult for Ajax when young midfielder Sivert Mannsverk was sent off a few minutes later for a second bookable offence.
It was 3-0 around 15 minutes after Bailey’s goal when another direct burst via Bailey through the heart of the Ajax defence was initially halted on the edge of the box but the ball fell to Jhon Duran, who unleashed a powerful strike that rocketed down off the cross-bar and back up again but had crossed the line before bouncing out.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">How SATISFYING is this strike?! 🤤<br><br>Jhon Durán smashes one off the bar twice and over the line ✅<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/UECL?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#UECL</a> <a href="https://t.co/X6DJaK2PwH">pic.twitter.com/X6DJaK2PwH</a></p>— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) <a href="https://twitter.com/footballontnt/status/1768392688481525771?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 14, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Their big money signing from last summer, Moussa Diaby, the made it four when he followed Bailey’s lead by effortlessly driving into the box and then producing his own rocket of a finish high into the roof of the net on his left foot.
The big picture: Aston Villa remain fourth in the Premier League as they travel to the capital to face West Ham United at the London Stadium on Sunday and they will be aiming to win their first major honour since 1996 when they return from the international break in the UEFA Europa Conference League. Ajax now have to make sure of European qualification for themselves next season as they cling on to fifth spot in the Eredivisie.
Man of the match: Leon Bailey. The former Bayer Leverkusen winger has been revitalised under Unai Emery and his excellent performance again tonight showcased his talents.
EVENTS
Kick-off
’25 | GOAL: Watkins (1-0)
’33 | INJURY: Watkins
’39 | INJURY: Kaplan
Half-time
’60 | GOAL: Bailey (2-0)
’66 | RED CARD: Mannsverk
’76 | GOAL: Jhon Duran (3-0)
’81 | GOAL: Diaby (4-0)
Full-time
4-0 | ||
Ollie Watkins 25' Leon Bailey 60' Jhon Durán 75' Moussa Diaby 81' |
