Aston Villa secured a slim advantage in the first leg of their Europa Conference League quarter-final against Lille, thanks to goals from Ollie Watkins and John McGinn.
Unai Emery, in his 1,000th game as a manager, witnessed Watkins score in the 13th minute with a header from a McGinn corner. McGinn himself then doubled the lead in the 56th minute with a powerful strike into the bottom corner, assisted by Leon Bailey.
Lille managed to pull one back through Bafode Diakite’s header from Angel Gomes’ cross, but Gabriel Gudmundsson’s goal was disallowed for offside after a VAR review. Villa’s goalkeeper, Emiliano Martinez, made crucial saves to maintain their lead, denying Gudmundsson and Jonathan David.
In the dying moments of the game, Lille’s Yusuf Yazici came close to equalizing but his shot narrowly missed the target. The second leg will be held at Stade Pierre Mauroy next Thursday, with Lille aiming to overturn the one-goal deficit.
The hosts displayed resilience to secure a victory in their 100th Uefa competition match.
Watkins took charge, producing three opportunities in just three minutes as Villa gained momentum in the early phase of the game.
Despite his initial attempt being blocked, Watkins managed to take a shot from the subsequent corner, only to be denied by Lille’s goalkeeper Lucas Chevalier.
Following McGinn’s delivery from a corner, Watkins capitalized on the opportunity, scoring a header with ample space in the box.
With 25 goals under his belt this season across all competitions, the English international is making a strong case for his spot in Gareth Southgate’s squad for the Euros.