Aston Villa secured their first victory of the season with a narrow 1-0 win against Bologna in their opening Europa League (UEL) match at Villa Park. John McGinn's first-half goal proved to be the difference, although Villa had opportunities to extend their lead. Bologna, despite growing into the game, couldn't find an equaliser, extending their winless run against English opposition.
Villa started brightly, with Evann Guessand and Donyell Malen testing Bologna's goalkeeper Lukasz Skorupski early on. McGinn broke the deadlock in the 13th minute, striking a fine effort into the bottom-right corner. Villa continued to create chances, but Skorupski thwarted them, denying Malen and later saving a penalty from Ollie Watkins after Martin Vitik fouled him. Bologna threatened, particularly through Nicolo Cambiaghi, but couldn't breach Villa's defense.
The victory marks a positive start to Villa's Europa League campaign after a difficult start to their Premier League season, where they sit in 18th place. Unai Emery, who has a record four UEL titles, will be hoping his team can build on this win and improve their domestic form.
Meanwhile, Rangers' struggles continued as they suffered a 1-0 defeat at home to Genk in their UEL group stage opener. Former Celtic striker Oh Hyeon-gyu scored the decisive goal for Genk, compounding the pressure on Rangers manager Russell Martin.
The game took a turn when Rangers midfielder Mohamed Diomande was sent off in the 41st minute. Genk were awarded a penalty, but Rangers goalkeeper Jack Butland saved Oh Hyeon-gyu's spot-kick. Oh, however, redeemed himself in the 55th minute, scoring after a throughball cut open the Rangers' defense. He thought he had doubled his tally, but it was ruled out for offside after a VAR review.
Rangers, who made it to the quarter-finals of the competition in 2024/25, now face an uphill battle in their group. The defeat means Rangers have only won two of their last nine UEL home games. For Genk, the win represents a significant boost, securing their first away clean sheet since early March and giving them a strong start to their European campaign.
