Bailey: It feels amazing

Leon Bailey celebrated an “amazing feeling” after helping Aston Villa reach the quarter-finals of the UEFA Europa Conference League.

Villa saw off Ajax 4-0 in a memorable second leg of the round of 16 tie, securing their place in the last eight of the competition in style.

It’s the first time the Villans have reached the quarter-finals of a major European competition since 1998.

“It feels amazing to be in the quarter-finals of European football,” Bailey told VillaTV.

“We’ve worked hard for it to be in Europe since last season.

“To be here and reach the quarter-finals is an amazing feeling – not just for the players but for the fans as well.

“We just have to really enjoy this moment.”

After Ollie Watkins had headed Villa into a half-time lead, Bailey converted his 12^th goal of the campaign on the hour mark with a nice piece of trickery and well-taken finish.

Ajax saw Sivert Mannsverk dismissed for a second bookable offence before substitute Jhon Durán and Moussa Diaby both found the net to cap a thrilling night in B6.

And, with a return to Premier League matters at West Ham United on Sunday, it provided the perfect response to last weekend’s disappointing defeat against Tottenham Hotspur.

“It’s definitely important to come back here at Villa Park and show a great performance like we did,” added Bailey.

“Spurs was a very, very difficult game.

“It’s always important to bounce back as fast as possible, and I think this game is definitely going to give us a lot of confidence and motivation moving forward for the game on Sunday.

“We just have to enjoy this moment and be ready to go again on Sunday.”

You can watch Leon’s full interview below…