“There’s a lot of regret” – Bologna player blames referee for Aston Villa defeat, Villans ‘beast’ made task more difficult

Jhon Durán and Emiliano Martínez have continued to impress for Aston Villa in the Champions League this season.

The goalkeeper has kept a clean sheet in all three matches. The striker has scored in the last two European games, including in the Villans’ 2-0 win over Bologna on Tuesday.

John McGinn opened the scoring from a free kick in the 55th minute before Durán doubled Aston Villa’s lead nine minutes later.

After the tie, Bologna goalkeeper Łukasz Skorupski spoke to reporters in the mixed zone and his comments are relayed by Bologna Sport News. The 33-year-old claimed a few crucial decisions went against them and that played a part in defeat.

He talked about Portuguese referee João Pinheiro when discussing not having luck against Aston Villa.

“True, we don’t have luck, but luck comes with hard work. I hope the whole team thinks so,” he said.

“The referee doesn’t give a foul on [Giovanni] Fabbian and the game is lost there. In the locker room they told us straight away that there was a foul, also because Remo [Freuler] catches the ball.

“After the first goal, the game went uphill and if you concede two goals against this team then it’s hard to come back, also because Martínez played a great game. If we improve in front of goal, we will return to what we were last year.”

The Poland international is disappointed to have lost to Unai Emery’s side, but he heaped praise on the Aston Villa stopper.

“There’s a lot of regret. We did well in the first half, but we need to be more aggressive in front of goal. On their side there was a beast in goal [Martínez] and much more needs to be done to overcome him,” Skorupski explained.

The two stoppers exchanged words after the Champions League clash at Villa Park. The Pole has refused to reveal what he discussed with Martínez.

“Too bad I didn’t get Martinez’s shirt at the end of the game. We complimented each other, he was great. He said two little words to congratulate me, but they remain between us,” he added.