It may seem a mischievous piece of scheduling, or a painful reminder of what Aston Villa briefly tasted. Eleven months ago, they also faced Bologna in European competition. But then victory took them top of the Champions League and if the table was in nascent stage rather than an accurate reflection of the continental pecking order, Villa could nevertheless cherish it.
Now they meet again in the Europa League. If the opponents are familiar, the soundtrack will be, too: Villa mistakenly played the Europa League anthem before their Champions League quarter-final against Paris Saint-Germain. Which, while they beat the competition’s eventual winners on the night and gave them an almighty scare, now has the look of an inflection point. The other was the May defeat at Old Trafford, costing Villa an immediate return to the Champions League. With every week, it feels like Villa have not recovered from either, an entire club sinking into a sulk at what they have lost.
