Emiliano Martinez was the hero as Aston Villa booked their place in the UEFA Europa Conference League semi-finals with a dramatic 4-3 penalty shootout win against Lille.
Villa, who led 2-1 from the first leg of last Thursday’s quarter-final at Villa Park, looked set to pull away from the contest when second-half goals from Youssef Yazici and Benjamin Andre put the French side 2-0 up and 3-2 on aggregate.
But Matty Cash grabbed a late goal to send the tie into extra-time and then penalties, where Martinez pulled off two stunning saves from Nabil Bentaleb and Andre to seal Villa’s place in the last four.
Villa will face the winner of Olympiakos or Fenerbahce in the first major European semi-final since 1982.
How did Villa’s match go?
There were two changes to the Villa side that won 2-0 at Arsenal, with Cass returning to defense in place of Diego Carlos, while Douglas Luiz replaced Morgan Rodgers in midfield. Teenagers Finley Munroe and Omari Kellyman were among six Villa players aged 21 and under on the substitutes’ bench.
Unai Emery’s side got off to a slow start and Lille leveled this quarter-final after 16 minutes with Yazici’s fine side-footed finish from Gabriel Gudmundsson’s cut-back.
Although Villa dominated possession in the first half, 63 per cent to Lille’s 37 cents, they failed to register a single shot on target.
Indeed, it took until the 58th minute for Emery’s side to threaten Lille’s defence, but Kass fired into the side netting after a good one-two with John McGinn.
That lapse proved costly and Lille took full advantage, Andre heading Haakon Haraldsson’s 67th-minute corner at the near post to overturn the tie and put them 3-2 ahead on aggregate.
Positive response
Emery responded by bringing on Leon Bailey for Moussa Diaby and then Jhon Duran for McGinn in an attempt to get back into the tie.
Cash’s thunderous 30-yard drive was cleared for a corner by Lucas Chevalier and Bailey shot straight at the keeper after Lille failed to clear the resulting corner as Villa piled on the pressure.
Villa finally found the major breakthrough with four minutes remaining when Watkins’ cut-in cross was brought down by Chevalier under pressure from his own player and Cash pounced on the loose ball to make it 2-1 on the night and 3-3 total.
After a scoreless overtime, penalties were called for. Youri Tielemans, Watkins, Cash and Douglas Luiz scored for Villa, with two superb saves from Martinez securing Villa’s place in the semi-finals.
![Villa shootings](https://resources.premierleague.com/photos/2024/04/18/15808a55-daa1-41a4-8e4a-7d6deff651fc/Villa-shootout.jpg?width=1400&height=800)
![Villa shootings](https://resources.premierleague.com/photos/2024/04/18/15808a55-daa1-41a4-8e4a-7d6deff651fc/Villa-shootout.jpg?width=1400&height=800)
Villa return to action on Sunday, hosting AFC Bournemouth in the Premier League and will look to open up a six-point gap on fifth-placed Tottenham Hotspur, with Ange Postecoglou’s side facing a busy weekend.