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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.
And they don’t want the dream start to end here.
“What we are building here is amazing,” said Villa captain John McGinn, one of the scorers against Bologna at a rocking Villa Park. “Three games in, three wins and most important for us is no goals conceded.
“We don’t want to stop here. It puts us in a great position. Some players came back and now we look really strong.”
Villa opened with a 3-0 win at Swiss outsiders Young Boys and then beat German giants Bayern Munich 1-0 in their first home game of the revamped competition.
Halfway through the third round of league games, Villa are 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.
“In case we are keeping the same [winning] performance we are getting and getting points through it, of course we can change our objective and to be the top eight,” Emery added.
“But I want to feel it is like a natural way we are doing it, and not a surprise, because we are playing good … we are being consistent and we are getting points, and we are feeling comfortable.”
Key this season has been the form of Jhon Durán, 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 centre-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 looked livid when he stomped to the bench but Emery brushed off any issue between them, calling his striker’s performance on the night “fantastic.”
“Of course, I am managing everything and the action of the players as well, but we are sending the message in the dressing room, respect our values and try to be mature and responsible.
“Sometimes someone, because he’s not the only one, sometimes they are reacting a little bit, but it’s under my control.”
Information from The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
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