Aston Villa defeated Lille 2-0 at Villa Park in the Europa League round of 16 second leg, advancing 3-0 on aggregate. John McGinn and Leon Bailey scored as Unai Emery's side progressed to face Bologna. Captain McGinn praised Jadon Sancho's man-of-the-match display.
Aston Villa protected their 1-0 first-leg lead with a professional performance against Lille. The first half was stodgy, with early efforts from McGinn and Douglas Luiz failing to spark fluency. Olivier Giroud had a chance saved by Luiz after 18 minutes, while Amadou Onana's 44th-minute header was kept out by Lille goalkeeper Berke Ozer, with Sancho missing the rebound. Lille started the second half strongly but were undone in the 54th minute. Emiliano Martinez launched a long goal kick for Sancho to chase down; the on-loan winger cut inside and passed perfectly for McGinn to slot home, making it 2-0 aggregate. Martinez joined the celebrations. Giroud had a goal disallowed for offside, and substitute Ollie Watkins deflected a shot inches wide. Sancho hit the post, and Lille had penalty appeals for Hakon Haraldsson and Matias Fernandez-Pardo waved away. Martinez saved from Noah Edjouma. Bailey, replacing Sancho, tapped in Watkins' cross four minutes from time. Giroud had another effort ruled out as Villa held firm. Post-match, McGinn hailed Sancho: “It was brilliant from Emi but it highlights Jadon’s performance, his best in a Villa shirt. He was man of the match tonight by a mile.” He called Martinez “a mad man... a top goalkeeper” who made a great save even at 2-0. Sancho said: “We stuck to the game plan... hopefully we keep that momentum into the Premier League.” Villa, winless in four Premier League games, now face Bologna, who beat Roma 5-4 aggregate.
