Morgan Rogers delivered a stunning hat-trick to propel Aston Villa into the Champions League last 16 with a dramatic 4-2 victory over Celtic at Villa Park on Wednesday.
Unai Emery’s side needed a win in this high-stakes ‘Battle of Britain’ clash to secure an automatic top-eight finish in the league phase, and Rogers ensured they did just that with a historic fast start and a last-minute finish.
Villa came out firing, with Rogers making history by becoming the first player to score twice in the opening five minutes of a Champions League match. In the 3rd minute, Jacob Ramsey cut the ball back to Rogers, who finished clinically past Kasper Schmeichel. Just two minutes later, Ollie Watkins set up Rogers, whose long-range strike took a slight deflection before finding the top corner.
Scottish champions Celtic responded with two quickfire goals before the break, courtesy of Adam Idah. In the 36th minute, John McGinn’s deflection fell kindly to Idah, who hooked home from close range. Just 145 seconds later, Reo Hatate played Idah through, and the striker fired into the roof of the net, becoming the first Irish player to score a Champions League brace since Liverpool’s Ronnie Whelan in 1984.
Villa regrouped at half-time and retook the lead in the 60th minute when Ramsey raced onto McGinn’s through ball, cut it back to Watkins, who smashed home from 12 yards. Watkins had a chance to extend the lead but missed a penalty, scuffing his shot embarrassingly wide after slipping during his run-up.
Despite the penalty miss, Villa held their nerve, and Rogers completed his first career hat-trick in stoppage time with a calm close-range finish, sealing a landmark win for the club.
Aston Villa finished eighth and will advance directly to the last 16, where they await their opponent. Celtic, who finished 21st, will enter the play-offs and could face Real Madrid or Bayern Munich, with the draw set for Friday.
This victory marks another historic moment for Villa’s Champions League return, having already beaten Bayern Munich earlier this season.
