Ollie Watkins ended his goal drought as Aston Villa secured a 1-0 victory over Lille OSC in the first leg of their UEFA Europa League last-16 tie on Thursday.
The Villa striker scored for the first time in eight matches in all competitions, putting the Premier League side in a strong position to reach the quarter-finals.
Watkins’ second-half header at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy was only his ninth goal of a difficult personal campaign and just his second in 13 games. His relief was evident as he celebrated the breakthrough.
Thanks to Watkins’ strike, Villa who eliminated Lille in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Europa Conference League in 2024 will head into the return leg at Villa Park on March 19 as favourites to advance.
Unai Emery’s side have now won eight of their nine Europa League matches this season as they continue their bid to end a 30-year trophy drought.
Villa had struggled in recent weeks, winning just one of their previous five Premier League matches. Their last two outings included a defeat to bottom-placed Wolverhampton Wanderers and a heavy 4-1 loss against Chelsea.
However, the victory over Lille provided a timely boost ahead of Sunday’s crucial clash with Manchester United in the race for UEFA Champions League qualification. It also marked Emery’s 100th win as Villa manager.
“Ollie is working and being consistent with his task. Of course he’s scoring, but we need more numbers from the other players,” Emery said.
“The most important thing is how we played a serious match. We know how difficult it is with the atmosphere they have here.”
After all six Premier League clubs failed to win their first-leg ties in the Champions League last 16 earlier in the week, Villa restored some English pride.
Veteran striker Olivier Giroud, who had scored 10 goals in eight previous matches against Villa while playing for Arsenal and Chelsea nearly added another just before halftime, but his diving header drifted narrowly wide.
Villa finally broke the deadlock in the 61st minute when Watkins met Emiliano Buendía’s flick with a looping header over Lille goalkeeper Berke Özer.
Watkins had a chance to double the lead after being played through by Douglas Luiz, but Özer did enough to deny him.
Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez later produced a fine save to keep out substitute Matías Fernández-Pardo as the visitors held on for the win.
Other matches
Elsewhere, AS Roma were held to a 1-1 draw by Bologna FC.
Federico Bernardeschi gave Bologna the lead in the 50th minute from Jonathan Rowe’s assist before Lorenzo Pellegrini came off the bench to equalise in the 71st minute after a pass from Donyell Malen.
Portuguese league leaders FC Porto claimed a 2-1 away win against VfB Stuttgart.
Terem Moffi opened the scoring in the 21st minute before Rodrigo Mora doubled Porto’s lead six minutes later. Stuttgart pulled one back through Deniz Undav before halftime.
Ten-man Panathinaikos stunned Real Betis with a 1-0 victory despite having Anass Zaroury sent off in the 59th minute.
The decisive moment came late when Vicente Taborda converted an 88th-minute penalty after Diego Llorente fouled Karol Świderski.
Later on Thursday, Nottingham Forest host FC Midtjylland, while Celta Vigo face Olympique Lyonnais. Ferencvárosi TC take on SC Braga, and KRC Genk meet SC Freiburg.
AFP
