Aston Villa v Lille Post-Match Thread

[PaulWinch again]

In fairness to Doug the one he got a yellow for was because Maatsen completely ballsed up.

[brontebilly]

After not a great 1st half, big improvement in the second, particularly good to see the best of Sancho and of course SJM scoring. Superb pass from Emi for the goal, let's see more of that and Unai, please can you have a word with Doug to cut out these needless free kicks he keeps giving away in dangerous areas.

He's done that his whole career with us , usually 3/4 yards outside the penalty box if not a free kick it'll be possession.

Harsh enough, he does win the ball back a lot despite getting caught wrong side a bit.

He's a goal threat from midfield too more than our other options. Garbage time granted but last two games he should have had tap ins. A fully fit Luiz gets into the box more often.

[Brend'Watkins]

After not a great 1st half, big improvement in the second, particularly good to see the best of Sancho and of course SJM scoring. Superb pass from Emi for the goal, let's see more of that and Unai, please can you have a word with Doug to cut out these needless free kicks he keeps giving away in dangerous areas.

Luiz did some good work but overall I thought he was way off with his decision making and passing. He’s nowhere near the level of the Dougie of old.

[SaddVillan]

The reaction from some of the French press.

L'Equipe
Lille is eliminated by a stronger team.
Lille never truly believed they could qualify against a tactically superior Aston Villa side, brimming with talent and dynamism. Stifled in the first half, Les Dogues tried to respond in the second but couldn't find a single opening in their opponents' defence.

RMC Sport
Aston Villa 2-0 Lille: "We were childish," laments Genesio after the elimination
Lille have been eliminated from the Europa League following this 2-0 away defeat to Aston Villa. In the post-match press conference, Lille coach Bruno Genesio reflected on the game, highlighting the experience of the Villans which proved decisive in this two-legged European tie.

France24
Lille were beaten 2-0 by Aston Villa on Thursday, ending their European dream before the Europa League quarter-finals.

Too slow to start and too soft afterwards, Lille failed on Thursday, March 19th, to write the chapter of history they hoped for at Aston Villa, where a 2-0 defeat ended their European dream before the Europa League quarter-finals . The 1-0 loss in the first leg of the round of 16 had put Bruno Genesio's team in a precarious position, but they only truly got going after halftime and conceded the dreaded goals in the second half. LOSC once again fell victim to Aston Villa, currently fourth in the Premier League , just as they did in the 2024 Conference League quarter-finals.

[Meanwood Villa]

Highlighting our greater experience when we've been in identical competitions last three seasons

[Walmley_Villa]

To be fair Lille have lost a lot of their better players i believe and are probably weaker now than 2 years ago.

[Ads]

So are we.

[Dante Lavelli]

After not a great 1st half, big improvement in the second, particularly good to see the best of Sancho and of course SJM scoring. Superb pass from Emi for the goal, let's see more of that and Unai, please can you have a word with Doug to cut out these needless free kicks he keeps giving away in dangerous areas.

Luiz did some good work but overall I thought he was way off with his decision making and passing. He’s nowhere near the level of the Dougie of old.

I don't think he is far off.  Fitness levels improving and he's getting on the ball a lot.

The missing ingredient is Kamara.  He makes everyone better.  Petrov said at half time that Luiz and Onana were too close together however i think that is by design and is "the structure" Emery demands.   It's only when Kamara is there that Tielemans/Luiz/Onana can release the handbrake because Kamara covers the ground/channels of two players.

[LeeB]

The confidence and contributions of Sancho, Watkins and Bailey have been low of late so it bodes well that all three came off last night with smiles on their faces having made impacts

[darren woolley]

Great win.

[PaulWinch again]

After not a great 1st half, big improvement in the second, particularly good to see the best of Sancho and of course SJM scoring. Superb pass from Emi for the goal, let's see more of that and Unai, please can you have a word with Doug to cut out these needless free kicks he keeps giving away in dangerous areas.

Luiz did some good work but overall I thought he was way off with his decision making and passing. He’s nowhere near the level of the Dougie of old.

I don't think he is far off.  Fitness levels improving and he's getting on the ball a lot.

The missing ingredient is Kamara.  He makes everyone better.  Petrov said at half time that Luiz and Onana were too close together however i think that is by design and is "the structure" Emery demands.   It's only when Kamara is there that Tielemans/Luiz/Onana can release the handbrake because Kamara covers the ground/channels of two players.

Exactly that - he’s playing a role that he’s ok at, but it’s not what he’s best at.

[TheToffnar]

Honestly thought we where excellent last night. Really tactically astute for large portions of the game.

The 4 2 2 2 system with Rogers narrow centrally and McGinn tucked in wasn't always effective, but that was largely down to a few whiffy passes and touches. We'd have torn them apart in the first half if we'd have been sharper.

Sancho excellent. He plays like that every week and he'll get an offer from us. Lindeloff and Pau paired brilliantly together again. Watkins best game for a while, despite that stinker at the end. The whole game gave me more confidence then I've had in weeks that we can put a semblance of a run together in the league. 

[olaftab]

Only saw second half, we got the goal against the run of play

That's a very negative take on it. The game was set up for that. We knew they needed to score and that's where we were going to pick them and we did exactly that.

[Pat Mustard]

Thoroughly professional performance across both legs - we never really looked in any danger despite barely getting out of second gear. 

Only negative point for me was the fucking morons turning the banners into paper aeroplanes and chucking them.  It was like getting dive bombed in the lower tier at times, and I got hit point first by one of the fuckers just below my eye.  I would genuinely hope the club don't put on a display using things like that ever again.

[TheToffnar]

Only saw second half, we got the goal against the run of play

That's a very negative take on it. The game was set up for that. We knew they needed to score and that's where we were going to pick them and we did exactly that.

Spot on. Conceding possession is absolutely something Emery wanted us to do, especially given out crappy win % when it get's too high.