Premier League side Aston Villa got their UEFA Europa League campaign off to a positive start with a 1-0 triumph over Bologna, while Belgian outfit Genk also posted a 1-0 victory over Rangers, piling further pressure on manager Russell Martin on Friday.
John McGinn’s lone strike was enough to give Unai Emery’s men all points on offer against Bologna, while Oh Hyeon-Gyu proved to be the difference between Genk and Rangers.
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Despite failing to win any of their first five Premier League games, Villa were considered pre-tournament favourites for the Europa League.
The English side reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League last season, narrowly losing to eventual winners
Paris Saint Germain. They have Unai Emery as their manager, who has won the Europa League four times during his tenures at Sevilla and Villarreal.
Concerns within the Villa camp were highlighted when Emery labelled his players “lazy” after failing to beat 10-man Sunderland on Sunday. Additionally, sporting director Monchi left the club this week.
Nevertheless, Villa managed to defeat the Coppa Italia winners, thanks to captain John McGinn’s early strike. The Scotland international scored into the bottom corner from the edge of the area at 13 minutes.
Ollie Watkins, who started the season scoreless, was left on the bench and missed a penalty in the second half. His weak spot-kick was easily saved by Łukasz Skorupski.
Villa could have faced consequences when Santiago Castro’s header hit the bar. However, Bologna’s visit to Villa Park ended in defeat, just as it did in their Champions League clash last season.
“Important to get a win at home after not our strongest start to the season,” said McGinn. “We haven’t been good enough. We’ve had a lot of praise the past couple of seasons and we’re rightly being criticised at the minute.”
Rangers boss Martin faced more calls for his departure following the Scottish giants’ latest disappointing result at Ibrox. Mohamed Diomande’s red card just before half-time for a wild challenge made things difficult for the home side.
Former Celtic striker Oh Hyeon-Gyu had a mixed return to Glasgow. His penalty in first-half stoppage time was saved by Jack Butland, but he scored the only goal with a composed finish 10 minutes into the second half.
Former Southampton boss Martin, appointed in June, has failed to win any of Rangers’ last eight games in the Scottish Premiership or European competition.
Olivier Giroud scored Lille’s late winner in a 2-1 victory over Norwegian side Brann. American international Tanner Tessmann secured Lyon a 1-0 win away to Utrecht. Stuttgart beat Celta Vigo 2-1, while Porto won 1-0 away to RB Salzburg.
