Lewis Ferguson says Jonathan Rowe ‘on fire' as Bologna head to Aston Villa for UEFA Europa League clash with ‘nothing to lose’

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Bologna captain Lewis Ferguson sat down with TNT Sports to explain how his side have "nothing to lose" against Aston Villa in their big UEFA Europa League second leg that will be a defining moment in both teams' seasons.

Highlights: Watkins on fire as Villa pass Bologna test

Video credit: TNT Sports

Glowing springtime sunshine was replaced with pounding rain and granite-grey skies as Ferguson and his team-mates put the final touches on their UEFA Europa League masterplan.

A full-immersion British weather experience at Tuesday’s training session might help with the acclimatisation, but Bologna know they will need to hit Villa Park with gale-force intensity on Thursday night if they are to pull off an extraordinary comeback for the ages.

Trailing 3-1 from the first leg against Aston Villa, the odds are stacked against the Italians - but that's how they like it.

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The second leg of the Europa League quarter-final between Aston Villa and Bologna will be live on TNT Sports and HBO Max.

Since club captain Ferguson landed in Emilia-Romagna from Aberdeen four years ago, Bologna have shattered their own glass ceiling by breaking into – and remaining in – the Serie A elite with a string of historic achievements.

Under Thiago Motta, they qualified for the UEFA Champions League for the first time in 60 years in 2023/24 with a record Serie A points haul.

His successor Vincenzo Italiano then led the Rossoblu to their first Coppa Italia success for 51 years. Now, they are in the Europa League last eight for the first time since the late 1990s.

Watkins admits Villa 'got lucky' and needed to 'wake up' after tough first-half

Video credit: TNT Sports

History is weightless in these parts. Sitting down with TNT Sports in the relaxed environs of the club’s leafy training base on the outskirts of Bologna, Ferguson made it clear that there is no reason to believe more cannot be written this week.

”Anything can happen, and we still believe,” Ferguson said.

”A lot of people on the outside might think at 3-1 it has finished the tie, but there are still 90 minutes to play and we’ve not given up. We’ve got nothing to lose now. We will give it absolutely everything.”

Bologna were at both their blistering best and self-destructive worst in the first leg. Ferguson hit the bar, Santiago Castro had a goal ruled out for a wafer-thin offside and Jonathan Rowe tormented the Villa defence.

But lapses of concentration and individual errors proved costly as they conceded twice from corners either side of Torbjorn Heggem’s catastrophic error for the first of Ollie Watkins’ two strikes. Bologna now know they can trouble Villa, but also that the price of a mistake is high at this level.

”We definitely have to take the positives,” Ferguson reflected.

”Large parts of the game we dominated and that’s not easy against a side like Villa. Especially the first half, we created a good few chances, the one off the bar, the goal disallowed, a goal could have changed the game at that point and then we go in at half-time 1-0 down after conceding from a set piece.

”Overall, we were really frustrated, but at this level it’s fine lines. It’s moments that cost us because over the piece we were good enough to get a decent result.”

How Rowe became 'best player' and PL target

One man who played a huge part in Bologna’s forward threat was former Norwich City winger Rowe, the man who scored England’s winner in the Under-21 Euros final last summer.

The 22-year-old was an electric presence on the left wing, causing endless issues with his dribbling, pace and crossing before thumping home a superb finish in the second half.

Rowe has had an eventful eight months. He left Marseille after one year last summer after being transfer listed for what the club called ”unacceptable behaviour in the dressing room” following an altercation with team-mate Adrien Rabiot.

The then Marseille coach Roberto De Zerbi called it ”a bar fight” and said he had ”never seen anything like it".

Both players swapped France for Italy, Rowe heading to Bologna on a four-year deal and Rabiot joining AC Milan, but the Englishman took some time to settle in Serie A.

Should Villa sign Rowe? Hargreaves says Englishman is 'better than I thought'

Video credit: TNT Sports

The adjustment period now appears to have emphatically ended, with Rowe hitting a rich vein of form since the turn of the year and providing four goals and two assists in his last eight games to become a player Ferguson regards as a key figure.

”He came late in the window in bizarre circumstances, then it was just a fast change,” Ferguson said.

”He changed club, we were in the season, so it was maybe difficult for him to get going and understand our way of playing. It did take him a little bit of time to settle in, not in terms of the group, but the style of play and the way football is here.

”But in the last three months, he’s been on fire. He’s been our best player. He’s the sort of guy we look to make the difference in games.

”He’s a funny character off the pitch; I’m trying to keep his feet on the ground. He’s been excellent, he’s one of those guys who can win you games and when I speak about fine margins and moments, he’s the kind of guy who can make the difference.

”He’s such a good out-ball to have on that side because we know when he receives the ball, something is going to happen. He can create, score goals, assist, he’s got everything to be a top player.”

Rowe’s performance at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara earned him attention back home, too.

TNT Sports expert Owen Hargreaves said after the game: ”Aston Villa know their first signing next summer – that’s who you’ve got to sign. What a great player, he’s even better than I thought.”

Gazzetta dello Sport this week reported that Rowe’s display in the first leg was watched by scouts from three Premier League clubs, and the transfer rumours are unlikely to slow down.

Premier League sides have enjoyed shopping in Bologna in recent years, with Riccardo Calafiori, Joshua Zirkzee and Dan Ndoye joining Arsenal, Manchester United and Nottingham Forest respectively over the last two years, but Ferguson is not concerned that the hype will get to Rowe.

Villa fans 'in dreamland' as Watkins punishes sloppy Bologna error

Video credit: TNT Sports

”I know him pretty well and I don’t think it will be in his head knowing he’s playing an English team,” Ferguson said.

”For English fans and Premier League fans who maybe haven’t seen him, that was a good chance for them to get a look at Jonny and see what he can do.

"Obviously, Norwich fans would have known, even though he was still young there coming through and has developed in the last couple of years into a really good player.

”I’m not speaking for him, but I don’t think that will be in his head, knowing Premier League fans and clubs will be watching that game.

”He’s relaxed, he’s funny, when he goes out on the pitch the one thing on his mind is to try and make the difference, and that’s so important for an attacker. The way we play, we want to get the ball to the winger, and we expect him to create and score for us. He’s certainly been delivering.”

You can watch the second leg of Bologna’s Europa League quarter-final tie with Aston Villa exclusively live on TNT Sports and HBO Max on Thursday, April 16 at 20:00 UK time.

Bologna’s Serie A clash with Juventus in Turin is also live on TNT Sports and HBO Max on Sunday, April 19, kicking off at 19:45.

Stream the Premier League, Men’s and Women’s FA Cup, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Conference League and more on TNT Sports and HBO Max

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