FOOTBALL – AN Ollie Watkins header ensured Aston Villa will take a lead back to Villa Park following the first leg of the club’s UEFA Europa League Round of 16 tie against LOSC Lille yesterday night.
The striker looped a header into the back of the net in the 61st minute to decide a cagey encounter at Stade Pierre-Mauroy.
Emi Martínez made a number of sharp saves at the other end as a clean sheet helped secure Villa’s first-ever victory in France at the seventh attempt.
Triumph in Lille also marked Unai Emery’s 100th win as the club’s manager - becoming the fastest man to do so in the process - and will see his side begin the second leg with a lead in seven days’ time.
Villa returned to the scene of a dramatic Conference League night against Les Dogues – a penalty shootout win two years prior – to pick up this season’s European adventure, having finished second in the league phase.
The opening stages in northern France saw the sides battling for supremacy in midfield, and neither goal had been troubled as the midway point of the first half drifted by. Morgan Rogers, Watkins and Jadon Sancho came into the game as the visitors’ attacking threat increased, with a sliding Aïssa Mandi taking the ball off Watkins as he looked to turn home Amadou Onana’s through ball.
Lille, who sit sixth in Ligue 1, struggled to make an impact at the other end until three minutes before the break when Olivier Giroud spurned a big chance, failing to make meaningful contact with Tiago Santos’ cross.
Martínez parried a Romain Perraud drive soon after before Rogers saw an effort deflected wide as the first half drew to a close without a breakthrough.
Lille’s influential captain Benjamin André didn’t emerge for the second half due to injury, but it failed to disrupt the home side as they continued to hold Villa at arm’s length.
However, as the match moved past the hour mark, Watkins put the away side in front when he looped a header over Berke Özer following Emi Buendía’s flick on from Ezri Konsa’s searching pass.
Buoyed by the goal, Villa came agonisingly close to a second soon after when Onana curled a long-range shot onto the outside of the post.
With Lille rocking, Watkins raced through on goal as his side counter-attacked, but his attempt to round Özer proved unsuccessful.
Martínez turned away Matias Fernandez-Pardo as the Ligue 1 outfit tried to muster a response, while Emery turned to John McGinn and Tammy Abraham from the bench to help see out the match.
Nottingham Forest’s winless run stretched to five matches across all competitions after they were beaten 1-0 by Midtjylland in the first leg of their UEFA Europa League last 16 tie.
Midtjylland hit the front early when these two met on this ground in the league phase, and they really ought to have repeated the act here.
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