HomeNewsBeritaBusinessLifestyleOpinionWorldSportsPropertyEducationCarzillaGalleryVideosAccelerator

Aston Villa seal last-16 spot as Rogers hattrick sinks Celtic

-

Villa raced into a two-goal lead inside five minutes at a buoyant Villa Park, both via the boot of livewire Morgan Rogers.

2
Shares
Total Views: 125
Free Malaysia Today
Aston Villa players celebrate their side’s third goal during the match with Celtic at Villa Park. (AP pic)

BIRMINGHAM:
A hattrick from Morgan Rogers helped Aston Villa to seal a spot in the Champions League last 16 with a thrilling 4-2 win over Celtic on Wednesday.

Needing a victory in their final league-phase match to seal an automatic qualification spot for the knockout stages, Villa raced into a two-goal lead inside five minutes at a buoyant Villa Park, both via the boot of livewire Rogers.

The hosts thought they were coasting to a top-eight finish, only for visiting striker Adam Idah to score twice in two minutes before halftime to drag Celtic level and send Villa back down into the playoff spots.

The pendulum swung once more in the hosts’ favour as England international Ollie Watkins slotted home on the hour mark, before the home side’s leading goal-scorer in all competitions missed a penalty that would have restored Villa’s two-goal advantage.

With a spot in the playoffs already secured, Rogers completed his treble as Villa wrapped up another three points that saw them finish eighth in the league phase as Celtic sneaked into the playoffs in 21st.

Celtic’s reward for reaching the playoff stage is a clash with the might of either Real Madrid or Bayern Munich.

“We started talking about top eight after our win over Bayern Munich,” Villa coach Unai Emery said. “We had to try to be ambitious, with the objective being the possibility to get it.

“In the Champions League, we are not contenders to win at the end and this is the most important objective, to get to the next round; I have to enjoy it.”

Villa finished off an impressive first season back in Europe’s premier competition since 1982-83.

Villa Park was rocking ahead of kick-off, with the roof nearly coming off five minutes into the contest as Rogers became the first player in Champions League history to score twice inside the opening five minutes of a match, one from close range and the others deflected long-range strike.

Villa had chances to put the game to bed but their wastefulness proved costly as, out of nowhere, Idah’s acrobatic finish and another shot he could not miss pegged back the Premier League side.

Watkins opened his Champions League account on the hour mark after being set up by Jacob Ramsey but got his penalty all wrong, slipping as he struck the spot-kick.

Rogers made no mistake in stoppage time, before he and his team mates huddled around a phone checking other results had gone their way. Further cheers from the stands told the players all they needed to know.

“Scotland gets stick but you can clearly see we have teams with the courage to play and we can still be competitive without the same resources,” Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers said.

“The format has been really good, let’s get ready for the next challenge.”

Stay current - Follow FMT on WhatsApp, Google news and Telegram

Subscribe to our newsletter and get news delivered to your mailbox.