Alan McInally has fingered Morgan Rogers as the player to watch when Aston Villa host Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday.
This is an unprecedented match in the 21st century because of Villa’s woes in league football which has prevented them from participating in European football which they used to dominate in the 20th century. Unai Emery has changed the face of the club and taken them back to prominence in England and is now making inroads into Europe, reminding fans of the Villa of old.
After a brilliant season in the UEFA Europa Conference League the season before, they now find themselves facing off against he world’s biggest teams in the Champions League. Their opponents, Bayern Munich, are six-time winners and perennial favourites in the competition every time they compete in it. This is why their current challenge looks insurmountable to fans even though there is strong belief in the Villa camp.
Performances like that of Morgan Rogers, who joined the club for £15 million in the winter transfer window of the 2023/24 season, have given observers a reason to believe in the Birmingham-based club’s chances.
McInally, who plaed for both Bayern and Villa in the 20th century, believes Rogers will be Emery’s secret weapon to do damage to Vincent Kompany’s Bayern. He said: “I like Morgan Rogers a lot – I think he’s done really well. I like that he wants to run with the ball at his feet and take players on, rather than take the ball then open out your body out and play it to the side. He’s always looking to drive forward. That’s what we are going to need.”
Meanwhile, Villa players do not seem to mind the harsh schedule that comes with the new Champions League format, breaking ranks from their colleagues at other clubs who have suggested that there are too many games for the players to navigate in a single season. Most of them have never played in the competition before this season, however, which influences this opinion they share as revealed by Villa defender Ezri Konsa.
“The new Champions League format is alright with me,” said Konsa. “It means we play more games in the competition. It’s my first time playing in the Champions League – which was always a dream of mine – so the more games, the better.”
“We got the experience of European away games last year in the Conference League, so we know how hostile it can be. European fans are different to English fans, it’s a different experience, and it’ll be a new experience for a lot of the lads. It will be different, but it’ll be nice to go on away days and experience something like that.”
