Aston Villa 4-2 Celtic: Morgan Rogers sends hosts through to Champions League last 16 while Hoops face play-off
Match report as Aston Villa beat Celtic to secure a top-eight place in Champions League; Morgan Rogers scored twice in opening five minutes; Adam Idah pulled visitors level with double; Ollie Watkins restored Villa lead before missing penalty; Rogers completed hat-trick late on
Thursday 30 January 2025 08:32, UK
Ollie Watkins helped Aston Villa reach the last 16 of the Champions League just hours after Arsenal had a bid turned down for the England striker, while Celtic progress to the knockout rounds for the first time since 2013.
Morgan Rogers had the Premier League side 2-0 up inside the opening five minutes as they looked set to race to victory against the Hoops, who had already secured a play-off place.
But Adam Idah, leading the line following Kyogo Furuhashi's departure, pulled the visitors level before the break in an enthralling match at Villa Park.
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Watkins restored the hosts' lead before a calamitous penalty miss. However, Dane Murray gifted the ball to the forward on his group stage debut for Celtic, with Rogers slamming the ball into the unguarded net and putting the result beyond doubt.
Unai Emery's team are through to the last 16, where they will play either Atalanta, Borussia Dortmund, Sporting or Club Brugge. Celtic will have to beat either Real Madrid or Bayern Munich to join them.
Villa through, Celtic have it all to do
The game started with pace as both sides started with intent, but while Villa were in dreamland early on it was a nightmare for Celtic.
Rogers first was rifled into the net from close range with his second a thing of beauty.
Celtic were robbed of the ball in their own half allowing Olly Watkins set up the 22-year-old and he curled the ball into the top corner, taking a slight deflection on its way in.
Nicolas Kuhn, Adam Idah and Reo Hatate tried and failed to create something for the visitors before it was almost game over before the half hour mark.
This time luck was on Celtic's side as Jacob Ramsey's shot crashed off the post before hitting Kasper Schmeichel's heel before ending up in the goalkeeper's arms.
After Alistair Johnston scrambled back to clear Ollie Watkins' effort off the line Celtic burst into life.
McGinn, on for the injured Matty Cash, got in the way of Greg Taylor's cross and it fell to Idah to fire into the net.
The striker had a point to prove following Kyogo's departure to Rennes he smashed in another after a lovely move from Arne Engles allowed Reo Hatate to roll the ball to him in the six-yard box.
Game on at Villa Park.
Rogers came agonisingly close to his hat-trick just after the restart but once again Johnston got back to clear the danger and keep things level as the noise levels ramped up inside Villa Park.
As news of Jhon Duran's imminent departure to Al Nassr filtering through, Watkins stepped up with his first Champions League goal to restore Villa's lead as he smashed home from McGinn's ball.
It looked like Celtic's luck had run out when Trusty brought down Watkins in the box with the referee pointing to the penalty spot.
McGinn handed the ball to Watkins but he slipped on his run up and sent the ball sailing high over the crossbar.
Schmeichel produced another brilliant save to deny Watkins and Rogers with Hatate just inches from curling in another equaliser for the Hoops.
But Dane Murray, off the bench for his Champions League debut, gifted Watkins the ball in stoppage-time and he set up Rogers tap home.
Emery 'proud' of Champions League performance
Aston Villa manager Unai Emery:
"We are very proud of our work in the Champions League.
"It is very important how we are here and where we started. The fans were excited and motivated. It was a very good European match.
"We played a really brilliant match and were in control of the game. We were feeling comfortable but I don't know why we lost our idea a little bit.
"I can't understand why we were not being strong in our mentality when we started fantastic."
Rodgers: Celtic have qualified on merit
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers:
"Brilliant game to be involved in. The word that strikes me is pride. Coming to a team that have been playing at the highest level in the Premier League and playing with so much courage.
"We have qualified on merit and carried threat throughout the night. Really proud of the team and the supporters gave us a great backing.
"Scotland gets a wee bit of stick for its football. We are nowhere near the resource levels of the teams in the Premier League but we can still be competitive. The format has been really good."
'A joy to watch'
Former Aston Villa midfielder Lee Hendrie on Sky Sports News:
"It's a massive achievement [for Aston Villa].
"The season has been up and down all the way but to have a brilliant start in the campaign and then a super finish and qualify is absolutely brilliant.
"It was some game to watch, it was end to end.
"Celtic were very good, Villa were brilliant going forward and there were some brilliant passages of play.
"It was an absolute joy to watch and what a moment that is for all the Villa fans and the draw that they've got is not a bad one at all when you look at the other possibilities."
When are the knockout draws?
To determine who plays who in the knockout rounds, there will be two draws after the league phase.
The first draw on Friday January 31 at 11am will determine which of the two options each team will get in the knockout playoff. For example, a team finishing 13th will find out whether they are playing against the team finishing 19th or 20th.
Seeded teams (9th-16th) will have the second leg at home and those play-off round matches take place on February 11/12 and February 18/19.
Teams seeded from 1st to 8th will have to wait until Friday February 21 to find out their opponents.
That draw will then determine who they face in the round of 16 and ultimately map out their full path to the final.
When are the 2024/25 Champions League knockout fixtures?
- Round of 16: March 4/5 and March 11/12, 2025
- Quarter-finals: April 8/9 and April 15/16, 2025
- Semi-finals: April 29/30 and May 6/7, 2025
- Final: May 31, 2025