Morgan Rogers scored a hat-trick against Celtic to send Aston Villa through to the knockout stages of the Champions League.
Celtic’s Dane Murray was caught in possession by Ollie Watkins, he rounded Kasper Schmeichel and unselfishly laid the ball off to Rogers who slotted home to net his first senior hat-trick.
The 4-2 victory saw Unai Emery’s side finish the league phase in eighth position on 16 points, which means they bypass with qualifying round and automatically progress to the round of 16.
Embed from Getty ImagesVilla Park erupted inside three minutes as Rogers broke the deadlock with a tap in. Boubacar Kamara started at centre back to replace the injured Tyrone Mings and begun the move with a pass to Lucas Digne on the wing. Digne unlocked Jacob Ramsey, he found Rogers who turned the ball past Schmeichel.
Rogers doubled his side’s lead 91 seconds later from long distance. He tried his luck from outside the box and his strike flew into the top corner after it took a small deflection off a Celtic defender.
Watkins put Villa back in front on the hour mark after Adam Idah scored a brace to make it 2-2 by half-time. Boyhood Celtic fan, John McGinn, played a key role in the goal.
He muscled his way past Arne Engels and then threaded a pass through to Jacob Ramsey. The left winger cut the ball back for Watkins who scored his first Champions League goal in straightforward fashion.
Embed from Getty ImagesAdam Idah drew Celtic level before break with a two-minute brace of his own. His two close range finishes ended his drought in the competition but weren’t enough to see his side hold Villa to a draw.
Watkins had a chance to get a brace of his own when Clerment Turpin pointed to the penalty spot. However, his left leg gave way as he approached to shoot and his effort spun over the crossbar.
Aston Villa will face one of Atalanta, Borussia Dortmund, Sporting Lisbon or Club Brugge in the round of 16.
Embed from Getty ImagesWritten by Isabelle Newnham
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