For an hour, it was threatening to be another of those fruitless days for Ollie Watkins. But then, Emi Buendía, of all people, soared high to win a header and Watkins then had the composure to send a header spinning beyond Berke Ozer, caught a few yards off his goal-line. Watkins’s dry spell was over, his first goal in eight matches and only second in 13 securing Aston Villa victory in Lille.
In the end, while his side are not yet anywhere near back to their convincing, conquering best, this was a thoroughly satisfying night for Unai Emery, a first win in five matches, a feeling reinforced by the second-half arrival of the Villa captain John McGinn after two months out injured.
Emiliano Martínez, booked late on for time-wasting, will surely have savoured the win, too. The Nord Tribune, home to Lille’s ultras, promised Martínez a hellish welcome and when the Villa goalkeeper headed towards them before the start of the second half, they made their feelings known. L’Equipe labelled Martínez l’ epouvantail, “the scarecrow”. Martínez was guaranteed a white-hot reception given his antics on his last visit almost two years ago, his first since the World Cup.
Then, the Argentinian saved penalties from Benjamin André and Nabil Bentaleb, both of whom started here, in a shootout to help Villa into the semi-finals of the Conference League and picked up two yellow cards in the same match, avoiding a red card because his second, for inciting the home fans, came during the spot-kicks. The first that night was for time-wasting with 39 minutes on the clock.
