Aston Villa secured their place in the Europa League quarter-finals with a victory over Lille. Skipper John McGinn and Leon Bailey found the net as Villa won 3-0 on aggregate.
McGinn and Bailey Seal the Win
McGinn set up a match against Roma or Bologna in the last eight. Victory comes amid awful Premier League form, with two wins from 10 games, which has meant Villa’s place in the top five has come under threat but European success can help inspire a recovery.
It was an ultimately forgettable game which suited Villa as Lille rarely threatened, with Ollie Watkins’ goal in France last week giving the hosts their platform for success.
McGinn struck in the second half, finishing off a quick break after goalkeeper Emi Martinez launched a perfect pass to Jadon Sancho after saving Nabil Bentaleb’s free-kick. Sancho then hit the post before Bailey tapped in his first Villa goal for a year with five minutes left as they finished off their Ligue 1 visitors.
Villa’s European Dream Continues
Unai Emery – a four-time Europa League winner – is a step closer to ending Villa’s 30-year trophy drought, which would also earn the club a return to the Champions League.
Potential Quarter-Final Opponents
Villa will face either Roma or Bologna in the quarter-finals. Bologna edged a thriller in Italy against Roma. After a 1-1 draw in the first leg, Bologna stormed into a 3-1 lead in Rome, only for Roma to score twice to make it 3-3 and take it to extra time. Nicolò Cambiaghi is Bologna’s hero with the winning goal in extra time to seal a superb 4-3 away win and a 5-4 triumph on aggregate.
- The first leg will be in Italy on 9 April.
- The return will be at Villa Park a week later.
- Villa played Bologna in the first match of the league phase, winning 1-0 at home thanks to a John McGinn goal.
Elsewhere, Nottingham Forest secured a Europa League quarter-final place with a penalty shootout win over Danish side Midtjylland following a dramatic last-16 tie. Forest midfielder Ryan Yates arrowed a low strike from 20 yards into the corner to put his side ahead in the tie, after Nicolas Dominguez had headed the visitors in front on the night and level on aggregate before half-time.
Vitor Pereira’s side now face a quarter-final against either Stuttgart or Porto next month as they put their Premier League struggles behind them to continue their European quest.
That is all for this live page on a great night for English clubs with Nottingham Forest, Crystal Palace and Aston Villa all marching on to the quarter-finals of their European tournaments.