Europa League: Aston Villa pip Lille in R16 1st leg
What's the story
Aston Villa secured a narrow 1-0 victory against Lille in the first leg of their UEFA Europa League Round of 16 clash. The decisive moment came when Ollie Watkins scored with a brilliant looping header from Emi Buendia's flick-on in the 61st minute. The win puts Unai Emery's side in a strong position to advance to the quarter-finals where they could face either Bologna or Roma.
Missed chances
Villa could have had a bigger lead
Despite the narrow win, Villa could have had a bigger lead. Amadou Onana hit the bar from distance soon after Watkins's goal. Watkins also wasted a one-on-one chance while Buendia narrowly missed with an acrobatic attempt late in the game. However, Emery remained calm amid his team's struggles, knowing how to navigate through such situations in this tournament.
Match highlights
Low-quality affair
Olivier Giroud came close to scoring in the first half while Emi Martinez saved well from Matias Fernandez-Pardo after the goal. The match was mostly a tense, low-quality affair with both teams failing to find their rhythm in the final third. However, Watkins broke the deadlock with a stunning header that could take his team one step closer to the last eight of this competition.
Do you know?
Emery completes 100 wins as Villa manager
Emery completed 100 wins as Villa manager. Having managed his 181st match across all competitins, Emery owns 100 wins in addition to 32 draws and 49 defeats. He owns a win percentage of 55-plus. As per Opta, he has reached that total in fewer games than any other Villa manager in history.
Information
Watkins races to 96 goals in Aston Villa colors
In 40 matches across all competitions this season, Watkins has raced to 9 goals. Overall, the Englishman has scored 96 goals in 263 matches for Villa.
Stats
Here are the match stats
Lille had 48.5% ball possession with Villa managing 51.5%. The home team had three shots on target from 7 attempts. Villa had just one shot on target from 9 attempts. The hosts missed two big chances. Lille had 86.2% passing accuracy with Villa managing a tally of 85.9%.