Aston Villa qualified for the Round of 16 of the Europa League with a 1-0 win away to Fenerbahce.
Jadon Sancho headed home in the first half, although the winger could easily have had two more, Matty Cash hit the post, while Marco Bizot pulled off a couple of superb saves at the other end, and both Villa and Fenerbahce saw their goal celebrations cut short by VAR checks.
Dramatically, Kerem Akturkoglu’s 75th-minute strike, which sent the home fans wild and looked to have boosted Fenerbahce’s qualification hopes, was ruled out for offside in the run-up by former Villa striker John Duran. Now they are going to the playoffs.
Villa will avoid those extra two games though. They are level on points at the top of the table with Lyon, who also won their penultimate match, and are guaranteed a top-eight spot ahead of their final league game at home to RB Salzburg next week.
Villa’s sixth win in seven Europa League games this season was a way for Unai Emery to mark his 100th match in charge of the competition. His prospects for a fifth Europa League triumph remain very much alive.
It could and perhaps should have been simpler, with poor moves from Sancho either side of half-time leading to him spurning good chances to add to his tally. VAR then flagged him for offside before crossing for Ismail Juksek to turn into his own net under pressure from Morgan Rodgers.
Cash also struck low against the upright during that second half, having earlier produced a deflected cross for Sancho to nod home.
There were tense moments later until the final whistle, with Bizot adamantly refusing to substitute Talisca on several occasions as the game got under way.
The tension in the hot atmosphere of Fenerbahce’s rain-soaked stadium was evident when Emery clashed with Yuri Tielemans when he was substituted in the final minutes. The coach nudged the otherwise impressive midfielder and did not shake hands as Tillemans exchanged words in passing.
But regardless of that quibble, Villa will be proud of how they bounced back from a disappointing Premier League defeat to Everton at the weekend to take a big step forward in Europe.
More to come…