April 12, (THEWILL) – Aston Villa have maintained their perfect home record in the UEFA Europa Conference League after defeating Lille 2-1 in the first leg of their quarter-final clash at Villa Park.
The home side took an early lead through an unmarked Ollie Watkins, who headed home from John McGinn’s deep corner to register his 25th goal of the season. Lille went close to equalising midway through the first half, but Emiliano MartÃnez was on hand to deny Edon Zhegrova, Bafode Diakite, and Jonathan David.
In the second half, Villa doubled their advantage before the hour mark, as McGinn curled a low shot home from the edge of the box. Lille, making their first appearance in a UEFA quarter-final, reacted positively and had a goal disallowed for offside, but MartÃnez continued to frustrate the visitors with a series of impressive saves.
Lille’s persistence eventually paid off in the 84th minute, as Diakité rose highest to meet a near-post corner and direct his header beyond a helpless MartÃnez. However, it proved to be too little, too late for the French side, who will now have to overturn a one-goal deficit when the two teams meet again in Lille next week.
The result maintains Aston Villa’s perfect home record in the Europa Conference League, as they look to secure their place in the semi-finals of the competition.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
