Scotland duo set up European quarter-final clash as nine-goal hero equals club record

It was a good night for Scots in the Europa League on Thursday night as John McGinn and Lewis Ferguson captained their respective sides to victories that will see them square off in the quarter-finals.

McGinn was the hero for Aston Villa in their 2-0 win over French club Lille at Villa Park, which secured a 3-0 victory on aggregate for the Premier League side. In his first match in front of the home fans since returning from a knee injury, McGinn scored the opening goal early in the second half with a cool finish from a well-worked move.

McGinn’s goal had a lot to do with Villa keeper Emiliano Martinez, who got down to save Nabil Bentaleb’s fierce 20-yard free-kick and then immediately released Jadon Sancho with a pinpoint kick from his hands. Sancho cut inside and fed McGinn, who slotted into the bottom corner.

John McGinn of Aston Villa celebrates scoring his team's first goal during the Europa League last 16 second leg win over Lille at Villa Park. (Photo by Kate McShane/Getty Images) | Getty Images

The goal was a notable one for the Scotland midfielder as it saw him equal the club record for most European goals, drawing level on nine with 1982 European Cup-winning icon Peter Withe.

Leon Bailey added a second late on as Villa comfortably progressed to the last eight, where they will meet Lewis Ferguson's Bologna after the Scot captained his side to a dramatic extra-time victory over Serie A rivals Roma.

The Italians were tied at 1-1 after the first leg in Bologna last week, and the return leg at the Stadio Olimpico finished 3-3 after 90 minutes, sending the game into extra-time, where the away side won it thanks to Nicolò Cambiaghi's 111th minute strike to clinch a 5-4 aggregate victory.

Ferguson was one of only four outfield players to complete the full 120 minutes, picking up a yellow card in the 116th minute as the midfielder led his side into the quarter-finals.

Bologna will now play Villa for a place in the Europa League semi-finals on April 9 and 16, guaranteeing at least one of the two Scotland internationals will be leading his team out in the last four.

The two sides have already met in the league phase of the competition this season with Villa triumphing 1-0 at Villa Park in September after McGinn scored the winner in the 13th minute. They also faced each other in the Champions League in 2024 with McGinn again on the scoresheet in a 2-0 victory at Villa Park.

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