Lille fall on penalties to Aston Villa

In the absence of Edon Zhegrova, Fonseca made the choice to start Yusuf Yazici on the right flank, and after a tenuous start, it was the Turkey international who made the difference. After a brilliant long ball out of the back from youngster Leny Yoro, Gabriel Gudmundsson controlled the ball and sent in a low cross, which Yazici duly lashed into the net.

Chances were relatively scarce for the rest of the first half, but Hakon Arnar Haraldsson almost put Lille ahead in the tie just after the interval, having been gifted a chance thanks to a loose touch from Youri Tielemans in midfield. Matty Cash responded with a chance for the visitors, but his effort drifted wide ten minutes later.

Villa’s first chance of the game drove a quick response from the hosts, as captain Benjamin André struck with a sublime header across goal to double the lead and put his side ahead on aggregate. Unai Emery’s side labored to find a response, and eventually received one with a fortuitous strike from Cash, as his deflected effort with three minutes left in normal time made the tie 3-3 on aggregate.

In the penalty shootout, Emiliano Martínez, the bête noire of the 2022 World Cup final for France, proved decisive, as he kept out efforts from both André and Nabil Bentaleb. Lille ‘keeper Lucas Chevalier had stopped Leon Bailey, but his work went for nought as Douglas Luiz followed André’s miss with the decisive penalty, sending the English side through to the semifinals.

Lille will now have to pick themselves up as they welcome RC Strasbourg on Sunday in Ligue 1. Currently in fourth place, Les Dogues will aim to keep OGC Nice, RC Lens and the rest of the chasing pack at arm’s length before taking on AS Monaco next midweek in a massive clash.