BIRMINGHAM, England (AP) — Three straight wins, no goals conceded and top of the league on maximum points.
Aston Villa’s first ever appearance in the Champions League couldn’t be going any better.
Villa’s 2-0 home win over Bologna on Tuesday maintained the 100% start to the English team’s first campaign in Europe’s top club competition since 1983 — when it was called the European Cup, which Villa won in 1982.
“What we are building here is amazing,” said Villa captain John McGinn, one of the scorers against Bologna at a rocking Villa Park.
Villa opened with a 3-0 win at Swiss outsider Young Boys and then beat German giant Bayern Munich 1-0 in its first home game of the revamped competition.
Halfway through the third round of league games, Villa is in first place and no other team has nine points.
“We are playing seriously, we are playing focused, responsible and the team is progressing and mature in everything,” said Villa manager Unai Emery, who took charge two years ago with the team just above the relegation zone.
Key this season has been the form of Jhon Duran, the 20-year-old Colombia international who is enjoying his breakthrough year at Villa.
Duran was handed a rare start against Bologna ahead of first-choice striker Ollie Watkins and was about to be replaced by his fellow center forward when he hooked home a volley in the 64th minute from Morgan Rogers’ cross.
Watkins was on the sideline waiting to come on and was seen applauding the goal by Duran, who now has seven for the season in 12 games — mostly as a substitute. One of them was a memorable long-range winner against Bayern.
“When he was watching that I was thinking of changing him, he accelerated and scored a goal,” Emery said, laughing. “It was fantastic. He was asking for more (time) because he was thinking he could score more goals.”
Duran was not amused at immediately being taken off after his goal. He angrily punched a seat in the dugout and then headed down the tunnel soon after. But he came back at the end of the match to join in with his team's celebrations.
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The Associated Press
