When the draw had taken place for the Quater and Semi-Finals of the Uefa Conference League, I admit, I was worried. Aston Villa were drawn away from home on both occasions and let’s be honest, the route to the final couldn’t have got much harder. However, if you are to be successful, you have to beat the best.
I thought that Lille looked on another level compared to any other side we had come up against in the competition when they came to Villa Park last week.
What if Ollie Watkins was awarded the penalty? What if Villa kept the clean sheet they probably should have collected? All ifs and buts and the reality was we had a one-goal lead against a side who were very good on home soil.
Report: Lille 2-1 Aston Villa (Agg: 3-3) Penalties: 3-4
Unai Emery made two changes from the side that beat Arsenal at the weekend. Matty Cash and Douglas Luiz replaced Diego Carlos and Morgan Rogers, who both started on the bench.
Lille had a full week to prepare as the French Football Federation backed their side by giving them a week off at the weekend and they made just one change from their first-leg defeat at Villa Park. Yusuf Yazici replaced the injured Edon Zhegrova.
The home side started brightly from the off and it didn’t take them long to get back on level terms across the two games. Gabriel Gudmundsson was able to cut the ball back for Yazici who hit the ball with a wonderful first-time finish.
Villa were struggling and would have been happy to hear the half-time whistle but the home side probably should have scored straight after the break when Hákon Arnar Haraldsson latched onto a missed pass from Youri Tielemans but fired his effort wide.
The first shot on goal from the visitors came four minutes before the hour mark when Moussa Diaby and John McGinn linked up before finding Cash but his effort cut only find the side netting.
In truth, Lille were a much better time and it looked just a matter of time before they doubled their lead on the night and it eventually came from a set-piece. Andre was able to break free and were able to get on the end of a Harldsson corner to head home.
Villa’s first shot on goal came in the 82nd minute. Once again from Cash, but he was denied by Lucas Chevalier in the Lille goal.
Moments after that chance, the visitors made it 2-1 on the night through Cash. Chevalier collided with his teammate Nabil Bentaleb, allowing the ball to fall to the Polish right-back who was able to fire Villa back into the tie.
The game went into extra time and the only real chance fell to Villa. Chevalier denied Leon Bailey and the ball fell to Luiz who headed towards goal but Lille’s keeper was in no mood to give up that easy.
Then came the drama of the penalty shoot-out.
Emi Martínez proved to be the difference between the two sides saving the first and fifth penalty to put Villa into the Semi-Final where they will take on Olympiacos.
What the manager said
Emery: “Playing quarter-finals in Europe is always very difficult… we had an advantage from the first leg and I knew that it was not enough, but it was important to get an advantage from home.
“Today, we struggled in the first half and we didn’t play like we are more or less playing. In the second half, we were getting better and then when they scored the second goal, it was a difficult moment.”
Up Next
Aston Villa will host Bournemouth in the Premier League at Villa Park on Sunday with a 3pm kick-off.