Aston Villa shocks Europe: A historic hat-trick and unstoppable hunger in the UCL

Morgan Rogers stuns the world with a historic hat-trick as Aston Villa’s dream continues

FBL-EUR-C1-ASTON VILLA-CELTIC
FBL-EUR-C1-ASTON VILLA-CELTIC | JUSTIN TALLIS/GettyImages

Villa Park was ablaze as Aston Villa sealed a direct qualification into the Champions League Round of 16 in highly dominant fashion, reigning supreme over Celtic. The eventual score of 4-2 not only boosted confidence in the Villans at home but also brought Morgan Rogers into the limelight since it had been the game of his life, notching his first-ever career hat-trick, leaving his name etched in the annals of the tournament.

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Anybody who has continuously underestimated Villa just needs to have a rethink now. Under Unai Emery, this side has not only proved they belong but shown their hunger to do even more. And Rogers drove the point home: "At the beginning of the season, we didn't set a goal. We wanted to take each game as it comes, challenge ourselves, and push harder, and we did just that. We deserve to be here. We had to dig deep."

The glorious match of No. 11

A match against Celtic is a baptism by fire for Brendan Rogers; yet he managed to grab that same torch and left the visiting side's defence torched, so to speak, with never seen before back-to-back goals inside five minutes.

But now? How far will Villa go? Rogers left the answer in the air: "Who knows? It's up to us. We have the hunger, the motivation, and a coach who pushes us every day. We're going in the right direction; we just have to stay humble, keep our feet on the ground, and keep going."

Villa Park as a European fortress

Aston Villa have made their stadium an absolute stronghold. Victory against Celtic makes it their ninth win in the last 11 home games in UEFA Competition. The only loss? A Conference League semifinal defeat last season to Olympiacos when Emiliano Martínez was suspended.

Even Unai Emery acknowledges the power of the fans in this special moment for the club: "In the Champions League, we love playing here and winning games. We feel strong here-thanks to our supporters. They're helping us."

Villa Park is becoming a nightmare for opponents. The stadium roars, the energy surges, and the team feeds off it. As the coach put it: "We’re happy to share this with them, with every Villa fan proud of what we’re doing. We’ll keep going and going."

What’s next for Aston Villa?

Few would have predicted at the beginning of the season that Aston Villa would make a splash in the Champions League, but that is no longer the story. Not only did they secure a spot in the knockout phase outright, but with authority.

The real question now, of course, is: how far can this team go? The answer, as Rogers said, lies within. Hunger and motivation are not in short supply; if they can keep the focus and maintain consistency, Villa might just keep rewriting history.