Aston Villa v Lille Post-Match Thread

[DB]

Just back as the M40 was closed which was nice.
Job done, great moves at times but also wasteful. Sancho really is frustrating, 1st half did nothing of note just kept losing the ball unable to get passed anyone, then 2nd half improved. Still nowhere near consistent enough for me.
Onana and Luis we great. Defence was pretty solid. Our probs are attacking quality, McGinn  has made a difference but need more from the others.

Yeah, Warehouse was great. Easy to get a drink and seat, the band and big screens was a real positive. Just the front bit needs finishing off, signage etc looked temporary and cheap.

[Pat McMahon]

Only saw second half, we got the goal against the run of play with Ollie ready to come on the sideline. Ollie did make a big impact off the bench but that's with Lille pushing on too. Ordinary enough in truth against a very average Lille team. Lindelof for me was a positive again, don't think he's had a poor game at centre back for us yet. Sancho with an assist and Bailey with a goal wasn't on the bingo card tonight. Maatsen, Torres, Rogers, Onana, Luiz , McGinn, Tammy all meh though.

Anyway, onto next round

Take the point that the opposition weren’t too clever but Villa were generally by far the more accomplished side. The confidence visibly flowed back into the team after we scored the first goal.

Sure and it's job done. But result aside, didn't see much sign of life in us really. Couldn't get out of our box after half time until we scored. They had to gamble then and it made things easier for us. A bit more care and we could have scored a load - Sancho off post, Watkins not able to put a 2 yard pass through to Luiz, might have been another one.

Luiz kind of summed us up. He seemed to win the ball back a lot to be fair, far more than Onana. Brilliant ball to put Sancho through but stupid moments around our box. Passing ball straight out of play at one stage under no pressure. Maatsen another one, just so sloppy. He cost Luiz a yellow.

I agree with you re Luiz - some good passing and vision and some moments where he lost his head and looked to be determined to get a card.

I thought we were turgid for the first half but rarely looked in trouble. The first goal killed the tie which was exactly what we needed.  Good cameo from Ollie too. West Ham will be much harder.

[brontebilly]

Only saw second half, we got the goal against the run of play with Ollie ready to come on the sideline. Ollie did make a big impact off the bench but that's with Lille pushing on too. Ordinary enough in truth against a very average Lille team. Lindelof for me was a positive again, don't think he's had a poor game at centre back for us yet. Sancho with an assist and Bailey with a goal wasn't on the bingo card tonight. Maatsen, Torres, Rogers, Onana, Luiz , McGinn, Tammy all meh though.

Anyway, onto next round

As you said Lille posed very little threat and non of their players stood out but you can only beat what’s in front of you. I’d say Torres was steady and tried to get us in the front foot without loads of movement ahead of him, Axis of Luis and Onana did well without being pressured too much but both got around the pitch. Rogers showed some lovely touches and played a few good balls linking up with Sancho, particularly in the first half.

Lots of encouraging performances tonight which hopefully we can build on to click out of our current league form.

One thing I'll give Torres credit for is he's definitely sharper in the offside line than Mings. He was nearly caught tonight at one stage but still pushed out in time. Granted Giroud isn't exactly Joao Pedro. Distribution wise I thought Torres was poor when it was competitive. To be fair, Maatsen's attitude tonight was very poor next to him and Luiz needs to take more risks in front of him to get on it. But far too often Torres forward balls were either cut out or if Tammy got there first he was totally isolated and dispossessed. Maybe movement wasn't good enough in front of him but I'd expect Torres to be better. Lindelof bailed him out big time at start of second half when he got caught under a cross and Giroud looked set to score. Martinez not one for clearing house in that scenario any longer.

Lindelof was our best defender by a long way tonight I thought. Luiz certainly worked very hard in midfield, far more interceptions than Onana I suspect and the odd moment of class like that ball for Sancho. But taking a bit too long on the ball for me, still doubting himself a bit maybe.

[Brend'Watkins]

Really pleased with the result. That’s all that matters.

[BC54 VFC]

Anyone fortunate enough to get a ticket for the Q-F away leg in Bologna on 9th April could travel the day before and get to see Steel Pulse on their 50th anniversary tour the previous evening!

[PeterWithesShin]