Morgan Rogers hat-trick takes Aston Villa past Celtic and into last 16 | Champions League

Aston Villa had done their bit, albeit not without a struggle, and now all they could do was wait. Morgan Rogers, fresh from completing his hat-trick in stoppage time, was among the Villa players huddled around the phone of the fitness coach Moisés Del Hoyo praying Atalanta would not find a winner in Barcelona and divert Villa’s course. Everyone was jostling for a view. With the final whistle looming here, Unai Emery was busy relaying the latest to Leon Bailey, explaining how Villa would have to settle for a playoff next month if the Serie A side scored.

Just as everybody had got to grips with the small print of the permutations, au fait with others’ goal difference, Villa Park released a communal cheer and the players dispersed. Villa had secured a place in the top eight and succeeded where Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Milan and Paris Saint-Germain had failed.

It is the kind of sentence that will be on the lips of Villa supporters for the next few weeks and one that speaks volumes of the company they are keeping these days. Monchi, the sporting director, did a double-fist pump, general manager Damian Vidagany did similar as he headed down the tunnel. Celtic, meanwhile, digested the reality of facing either Real or Bayern in a fortnight, a two-leg playoff between Brendan Rodgers’s side and the last 16.

Celtic stunned Villa after recovering from an early two-goal deficit to level but Ollie Watkins registered his first goal in the competition to nudge Villa in front and then missed a penalty to put the game to bed midway through the second half. Judging by the way Watkins celebrated his strike, he is here to stay. A smirking Watkins coolly jogged along the Holte End before clenching his fist and appearing to tap the crest on his chest, hours after the emergence of a shock bid from Arsenal. Meanwhile Jhon Durán, an unused substitute, is poised to depart for the Saudi Pro League in a deal worth about £80m.

Emery suggested he was powerless to prevent Durán from pursuing a fresh start, despite the obvious attraction of advancing in the Champions League. Fittingly, it was Faithless’s Insomnia which blared over the speakers as Villa’s players finished their warmup. Neither Watkins or Durán are immune to outside interest. Watkins blew kisses towards a hospitality box in the North Stand, giving a glove to a young fan before heading in. Durán, typically, was last down the tunnel, high-fiving the supporters who have loved watching his development. Durán’s preposterous winner against Bayern put them on this path.

Villa made light of what could have been a destabilising backdrop, quickly getting to work to the point the game felt as good as over inside the opening five minutes. Rogers swept home after a clinical, triangular move down the left flank that caught Alistair Johnston cold. Youri Tielemans slipped Jacob Ramsey in in the channel and Ramsey squared for Rogers, who converted from close range. Emery flung his right first towards the floor of his technical area in celebration.

If it was advantage Villa after 152 seconds, then Villa were well in command with barely four minutes gone. An alert Ezri Konsa pounced on Kasper Schmeichel’s pass for Adam Idah and kickstarted an attack. Watkins took things over, locating Rogers to his right. Celtic offered Villa plenty of room and encouraged Rogers to take aim. So he did, blasting a shot that skidded off the studs of Liam Scales and flew into the top corner past Schmeichel.

Callum McGregor, Celtic’s captain, asked questions of his teammates and they summoned a response, Nicolas Kühn scissoring wide. Boubacar Kamara, a makeshift centre-back amid Villa’s injury crisis, twice averted danger but Celtic had nothing to lose and would not relent. Reo Hatate squandered a fine chance after seizing a loose pass from Lucas Digne. Ramsey hit a post as Villa went for the jugular on 25 minutes and then Watkins saw a shot cleared off the line.

So, it could feasibly have been 4-1 to the hosts. There were nervous glances when Idah extended his right leg to hook in Greg Taylor’s cross, diverted into the former Norwich striker’s path via John McGinn, whose attempted clearance backfired. Then Villa cracked, Idah converting from the edge of the six‑yard box to cap a slick move and make a mockery of those who presumed Villa would simply swat aside the Scottish champions. Rodgers punched the air.

With the hour looming, though, McGinn took matters into his own hands, shrugging off Arne Engels on halfway to spark an attack. Ramsey streamed towards goal and unselfishly squared for an unmarked Watkins to lash in. A few minutes later Watkins squandered a chance to restore Villa’s two-goal buffer after being fouled inside the box by Auston Trusty. Watkins slipped, ballooning the subsequent penalty into the Holte End to tee up a nervy finale, in which Rogers sealed victory.

“I’m just proud of how we’ve performed, Scotland gets a wee bit of stick in English football, but I think you can clearly see we’ve teams that have got courage to play – we’re nowhere near the resource levels of the teams in the Premier League but we can still be competitive,” Rodgers said. “I’ve really enjoyed this format and now we’ll get ready for the next challenge.”