Lille vs Aston Villa LIVE: Europa Conference League result and reaction after Villa win on penalties
The Europa Conference League quarter-final is still up for grabs after a tight first-leg last week
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Emiliano Martinez was the unsurprising star of a dramatic penalty shootout as Aston Villa edged past Lille and into the semi-final of the Europa Conference League.
The Argentina goalkeeper, who helped his country win the World Cup 18 months ago, produced some similar heroics in France, saving spot-kicks from Nabil Bentaleb and Benjamin Andre to earn a 4-3 shootout win after the quarter-final had ended 3-3 on aggregate after two legs.
There was plenty of his trademark dark arts on show as he shushed the baiting French crowd, who had not forgotten what happened in Qatar, and then caused confusion by receiving a yellow card from the referee in the middle of the shootout, having already been booked in normal time.
But bookings are not carried forward into the shootout meaning he could stay on and send Villa into a first European semi-final since 1982. Follow all the reaction below plus get the latest odds and tips right here:
Lille 1-0 Aston Villa
38 mins: Santos tries to play it through to David, but it’s overhit. Very little attacking threat from either side since the goal.
Martinez gets a yellow card for time–wasting; the referee seems to indicate that that’s the fourth time today he’s been too slow.
Lille 1-0 Aston Villa
36 mins: McGinn collects on the edge of the box and tries to slide it in to Watkins, but Lille intercept. That’s the closest they’ve come so far really.
0 shots to Lille’s five, but a little bit more possession.
Lille 1-0 Aston Villa
35 mins: Villa have still not managed to create anything noteworthy. They’re keeping the ball better now though.
Lille 1-0 Aston Villa
32 mins: Villa’s first corner as Diaby’s cross is turned behind. Digne delivers, but Andre clears.
Lille 1-0 Aston Villa
31 mins: Rogers’ first involvement is to win a foul near halfway. Villa can’t make anything of the attacking opportunity though, as McGinn plays an easy pass straight out of play.
Lille 1-0 Aston Villa
30 mins: The corner is headed away by Digne. Lille come again, and Cash does well to intercept and turn behind for another corner.
Andre meets the corner in the six-yard box again, but he heads wide!
Lille 1-0 Aston Villa
27 mins: The stretcher is out for Zaniolo and it looks like he’ll come off, but he’s back to his feet briefly. He’d landed on his back, and Morgan Rogers is waiting.
Rogers comes on for the Italian.
Lille 1-0 Aston Villa
24 mins: Yazici whips in the free-kick, which Andre connects with, but his header is straight at Martinez’s face, and the Argentinian is down brielfly.
He didn’t know a lot about it but it was some save actually – Andre will be thinking he should have scored, as anywhere but against Martinez’s face and it would’ve been 2-0.
Zaniolo is also down, near halfway. We’ll have a corner when play resumes.
Lille 1-0 Aston Villa
23 mins: Lille certainly look the more confident of the two sides here. Villa are struggling to keep the ball for any meaningful period of time.
Torres is the latest to give it away – Santos drives forward and wins a free-kick to the right of the box.
Lille 1-0 Aston Villa
20 mins: Corner is easily collected by Chevalier, but Haraldsson messes up the counter-attack opportunity.
Villa counter themselves, but there’s a coming together between Santos and Zaniolo, and the Villa player is booked!
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