In an exhilarating penalty shootout, Emiliano Martinez shone as Aston Villa narrowly surpassed Lille, progressing into the semi-finals of the Europa Conference League. The Argentinian shot-stopper, who had previously contributed significantly to his homeland’s World Cup victory a year and a half ago, replicated his commendable performance in France by blocking penalties from Nabil Bentaleb and Benjamin Andre. The quarter-final match ended in a 3-3 aggregate after two fixtures, leading to a 4-3 victory for Aston Villa in the shootout.
Martinez was seen practicing his notorious gamesmanship by silencing the taunting French audience, who remembered his performance in Qatar. In the middle of the shootout, Martinez’s actions led to him receiving a yellow card from the official, in addition to the one he received during regular play. However, regular time bookings do not carry over into the shootout, enabling Martinez to stay in the game and take Villa to its first European semi-final since 1982.
Despite this victory, Villa could hardly be deemed deserving. Throughout a majority of the match’s second leg in France, they were largely outmaneuvered, with goals from Yusuf Yazici and Andre, eradicating their 2-1 advantage from the first leg. A goal at the 87th-minute mark by Matty Cash brought the game into extra time, with Martinez delivering in the shootout. This allowed manager Unai Emery to celebrate his eighth consecutive European quarter-final win.
Emery, previously successful in the Europa League with Sevilla and Villarreal, now has his sights set on winning another European competition. Meanwhile, Villa impressed with one of their best displays of the season, defeating Arsenal 2-0. Lille, on the other hand, spent the weekend resting, as Ligue 1 canceled their fixture so they couldprep for the match.
The hosts were naturally more assertive, equalizing in the 15th minute with a spectacular goal. Gabriel Gudmundsson was set up perfectly by a lengthy pass, and his cross expertly found Yazici, who fired off a shot straight into the lower corner, bringing the aggregate score to 2-2. Martinez denied Lille the chance to take the lead, blocking a direct header from Andre, the Lille captain, while also managing to deflect another attempt. Emery’s squad, in sharp contrast to their performance at the Emirates, couldn’t produce a shot in a first half mostly spent on defence.
In the 56th minute of the match, Villa finally started to pose a threat to Lille’s goal, with Moussa Diaby and John McGinn setting up Cash for a shot that unfortunately hit the side-netting. This seemed to inspire false confidence, as Lille successfully scored their second goal a mere 12 minutes later, with Andre skillfully deflecting Hakon Arnar Haraldsson’s corner into the goal via the crossbar and post.
From that point on, the away team was left scrambling to catch up. It wasn’t until the 82nd minute that they managed their first attempt on target, with Cash’s long-range shot being deflected by Lille’s goalkeeper, Lucas Chevalier. Chevalier subsequently slipped up, however, enabling Villa to extend the game into overtime, a mere three minutes before the end of ordinary play.
Chevalier failed to catch Ollie Watkins’ cross, instead allowing it to land in Cash’s vicinity. From the edge of the pitch, Cash deflected the ball in. Thankfully for Lille, Chevalier was able to make amends for his previous error in the initial half of extra time, masterfully deflecting both Leon Bailey’s shot and Douglas Luiz’s rebound header, thus denying Villa a significant scoring opportunity.
Chevalier continued to impress even in the match’s final minute, demonstrating his talent by stopping Jhon Duran’s low shot with a foot save. In the subsequent penalty shootout, however, all attention was on the other goalkeeper. After saving Bentaleb’s penalty, he engaged with the spectators, which nearly caused an incident.
Bailey’s penalty shot for Villa was unsuccessful, giving Lille the opportunity to make a comeback. But the tide quickly turned again in Villa’s favour following a score from Luiz, and later, Martinez’s save from Andre, which led to triumphant celebrations from the Villa side.