Nicolo Zaniolo’s first goal for Aston Villa helped them seal their place in the Europa Conference League’s last 16 after a 1-1 draw against Zrinjski Mostar.
Zaniolo gave a much-changed Villa the lead in Bosnia and Herzegovina just after the hour-mark before Matija Malekinusic fired a spectacular equaliser for the hosts in the closing stages.
The point was enough to ensure Villa finished top of Group E ahead of Legia Warsaw to avoid two play-off matches and progress straight into the knockout stages, but it was far from convincing by Unai Emery’s side.
Goalkeeper Filip Marschall was handed his Villa debut and Jacob Ramsey made his first start in five months as Emery made eight changes from Saturday’s win against Arsenal.
Matty Cash, Alex Moreno, Leander Dendoncker, Moussa Diaby, Jhon Duran and Zaniolo also started.
Marschall did well to snuff out a through-ball as Zrinjski looked to put Villa under early pressure, but the former England Under-19 goalkeeper barely touched the ball in an uneventful first half.
Zrinjski, bottom of the group with just one win from their previous five games, showed little ambition in front of a home crowd of around 6,000, while Villa lacked the cohesion to trouble them.
Zaniolo blazed one effort over the crossbar and forced Zrinjski goalkeeper Marko Maric into a rare save.
Villa’s record signing Diaby fluffed his chance when missing the ball completely from Moreno’s cross as Emery’s new-look line-up failed to raise the tempo.
Little changed in the second period and Emery had seen enough after 57 minutes, sending on John McGinn and Lucas Digne for Ramsey and Moreno respectively.
McGinn made an instant impact, injecting some urgency and whipping in a cross for on-loan Galatasaray midfielder Zaniolo to neatly control before tucking the ball under Maric from six yards.
Calum Chambers and Pau Torres replaced Cash and Diego Carlos before Josip Corluka was flagged offside as he fired Zrinjski’s best chance of the match over the crossbar in the 71st minute.
Corluka missed another chance from a corner soon after to remind Villa the job was not yet done.
Duran forced Maric into a save with a first-time angled effort before teenage midfielder Tommy O’Reilly replaced Diaby to make his senior Villa debut a day before his 20th birthday.
Fellow debutant Marschall was almost punished for a howler when his clearance struck Torres but Aldin Hrvanovic failed to keep the rebound on target.
Marschall made amends by racing off his liner to deny Hrvanovic moments later as the Premier League visitors held on to their advantage.
However, Malekinusic punished Villa for not putting the result beyond doubt by thundering home a 25-yard equaliser in the 87th minute, but Emery’s side held on for the point they needed.
Let's start our Daily Laugh today. 23 years ago, Ronaldinho fooled everyone with 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 free-kick against England and a star was born If Nico Williams moves to BarcaTrent Pep Guardiola knows how to TURN ON the Cyborg! AN INSPIRATION TO THE WORLD! Fabrizio Romano shares his new Lamine Yamal bed on Facebook.This is so funny Please stay tuned on Daily Laugh. There will be more fun tomorrow!(Credi...
Andre Onana is keen to stay at Manchester United despite interest from Monaco, sources have told ESPN.The French side asked for information from Onana's representatives about his potential availability this summer.Monaco also showed interest in former United goalkeeper David De Gea before he extended his contract with Fiorentina.Onana, however, is determined to stay at Old Trafford unless he is to...
Liverpool could still enter the market in one of their biggest-spending windows.Liverpool are reportedly set to launch crunch talks with Crystal Palace over England defender Marc Guehi. The Reds are long-term admirers of the 25-year-old and could make him their latest big-money signing.Palace are said to value Guehi at around £70million despite only one year remaining on the former Chelsea st...
Liverpool confirmed the signing of Germany international Florian Wirtz on Friday evening.Former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has spoken about the signing of Florian WirtzJurgen Klopp has expressed his admiration for Liverpool's acquisition of German international Florian Wirtz. The former Reds manager, who departed in 2024 and now serves as Red Bull's Head of Global Soccer, maintains close ties ...
Chelsea no longer interested in MaignanPer Fabrizio Romano, Chelsea are no longer interested in AC Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan. They have not reactivated talks with the player and reportedly do not intend to do it later in the transfer window as they have confidence in their current crop of custodians at Stamford Bridge.Van Nistelrooy set to be sacked by Leicester after relegationLeicester City ...
Juventus, Napoli in contact with Chelsea striker JacksonSerie A clubs are interested in Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson.Jackson's future at Chelsea is in doubt after he suffered another red card in yesterday's Club World Cup defeat to Flamengo.Sky Italia's0Gianluca Di Marzio reports that Juventus and Napoli are interested in Jackson.Juventus have0 already made contact with the player's management ...
Bayern Munich rival Chelsea for Borussia Dortmund winger GittensBayern Munich are interested in Borussia Dortmund winger Jamie Gittens.Gittens saw a move to Chelsea fall through last week after Dortmund rejected their 342m offer on Tuesday's Club World Cup transfer deadline.Kicker reports that Bayern are planning a move to sign Gittens during this window.Bayern sporting director Max Eberl has left...
Frimpong reacts as Wirtz joins Liverpool in 3116m moveJeremie Frimpong has responded to Florian Wirtz’s move from Bayer Leverkusen to Liverpool, following in his footsteps.Just weeks after the Dutchman made the switch from the Bundesliga side to the Reds, Wirtz followed in a blockbuster 3116 million ($156m) move.0Shortly after the transfer was confirmed, Frimpong responded with the eyes emoj...
Rashford keen on joining Yamal’s BarcelonaManchester United star Marcus Rashford has expressed a desire to play alongside Lamine Yamal, seemingly sending a message to Barcelona to make a move.The England international has reportedly had his sights set on a Blaugrana transfer for a while. Now, the former Aston Villa loanee has arguably dropped a not-so-subtle hint that he’s eager to joi...
Quilindschy Hartman will join Burnley as soon as next weekFeyenoord have reportedly accepted a bid from Burnley for left-back Quilindschy Hartman.As Burnley were preparing an offer for the 23-year-old Hartman, the left-back was reported to have visited Burnley's training ground and met manager Scott Parker before the weekend.According to Dutch media, Feyenoord have accepted a €12 million bid...
- 1 Chloe Kelly enjoys sun-kissed holiday as Arsenal star rests before Euro 2025
- 2 Jack Grealish set to leave Man City this summer
- 3 Man Utd have Hugo Ekitike 'advantage'
- 4 Transfer news & rumours LIVE
- 5 Stunning Euro U21 reporter dubbed 'queen of Europe' in bold dress
- 6 Man Utd make decision on replacing Andre Onana with Emi Martinez this summer
- 7 DONE DEAL: Celta Vigo sign permanently Ilaix from RB Leipzig
- 8 Real Madrid eye a trio of targets
- 9 Maddison and Wag announce they're expecting twins AGAIN
- 10 Seattle Sounders vs PSG Prediction 24 June 2025