Aston Villa has taken a first step towards the semi-finals of the Conference League. The team from Birmingham was too strong for Lille OSC at home with 2-1, which failed itself before and after the break by repeatedly encountering star Emiliano Martínez. Ollie Watkins and another standout, John McGinn, were the scorers for the English side. Bafodé Diakité gave Lille a goal in the final phase. The return in Lille will take place in a week.

At Villa, manager Unai Emery had to do without defensive players Matty Cash, Tyrone Mings and Clément Lenglet, which meant that Lucas Digne, among others, was allowed to show from the start. Watkins was flanked in the forward line by Leon Bailey and Morgan Rogers. Jonathan David was the designated striker for Lille, where Samuel Umtiti was missing due to a knee injury.

Watkins should have provided a goal or assist after ten minutes of play. The England international decided to try it himself from a difficult angle in vain, which was not appreciated by both Douglas Luiz and McGinn. The angry looks soon disappeared when Watkins neatly headed home from a corner kick by McGinn: 1-0.

Lille were not fooled by the early setback and appeared dangerously in front of Martínez's goal several times. The 2022 world champion prevented Edon Zhegrova from scoring twice by blocking hard shots from the Kosovan. Diakité perhaps had the biggest chance shortly afterwards, which was also defused by Martínez. The goalie got out of his goal just in time and plucked the ball away from the feet of the outlaw Diakité.

Villa also appeared dangerously in front of Lucas Chevalier's goal several times before halftime. McGinn made a nice through ball to Bailey, who turned to his left and curled less than half a meter wide. So no second assist for star McGinn, who could breathe a sigh of relief moments later after the big next chance for Lille. Hákon Arnar Haraldsson passed to David, who was unable to pass Martínez from a fairly difficult angle.

After the tea break, Watkins almost got a wonderful assist. With a nice heel ball he enabled Bailey to fire a shot. The Jamaican shot with the left towards the short corner, where Chevalier was there in time. In the eleventh minute after the break, the Birmingham club still scored. Bailey slipped when he passed McGinn, but it didn't matter to Villa. McGinn shot in neatly from the edge of sixteen: 2-0.

Lille eventually got the ball in the net, but things did not go well for the Northern French either when the goal by Gabriel Gudmundsson, ex-FC Groningen, was disallowed due to the Icelander's narrow offside. Relief at Villa Park, where Prince William, among others, was a guest. Lille continued to look for the important tying goal, but Martínez had no intention of cooperating and turned away Gudmundsson's next effort.

Compatriot Haraldsson then tried in the short corner, where Martínez showed up again in time. Ten minutes before the end, the liberating and deserved goal came for Lille, when Diakité neatly headed in from a corner: 2-1. Yusuf Yazici even thought about making it 2-2 for a moment, but he curled just wide.

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