Aston Villa turn into route-one Wimbledon to earn precious first-leg lead against Lille

It was more Wimbledon than the tiki-taka football conceived in Unai Emery’s homeland of Spain. But the Villa manager will not mind, with his team recording a hard-fought and needed win after worrying results in their previous four games.

Watkins’s goal was Villa’s first shot on target, which points to their problems not being totally solved with one victory in the hostility of Stade Pierre-Mauroy. They need to improve on their composure in the final third of the pitch or risk getting overtaken in the race for the Champions League places over the next two months.

Yet a win is a win, with another cause for optimism being John McGinn’s return from injury to make an appearance off the bench. Watkins also desperately needed his goal, having gone this season without scoring in the Europa League, or in any game since January.

This was a reminder to Thomas Tuchel, the England manager, that Watkins is the best option as Harry Kane’s back-up at the World Cup, despite others staking a claim for that place, not least his Villa team-mate Tammy Abraham.

Perhaps a bigger test will be against Manchester United at the weekend, when Villa can climb back to third with a win. United will be a different proposition to Lille, who fielded their oldest team in a European game with an average age of 29.

“It was a good first leg, we know how these games change so we won’t get carried away. It was a better performance but there is still lots to do,” McGinn said. “We needed a bit of a reset, the past month has not been great, but we can’t dwell on it and this is a building block.”

It was also a sweet evening for Emiliano Martínez, who was mercilessly jeered by Lille fans who did not forget his gamesmanship during a Europa Conference tie two years ago. He received a second yellow card in the penalty shoot-out of that match, but not a red card because of the rules. His antics in the World Cup final against Les Bleus mean he will always be “Public Enemy No 1”, as one French publication branded him.

Martínez produced his best to deny Soriba Diaoune, while also keeping an effort out from Matias Fernandez-Pardo.

Watkins’s goal came just after the hour mark when Konsa launched the ball forward from his own half, with Emi Buendía flicking on for Watkins to head over Berke Özer. There could have been another goal when Watkins raced through, but he stumbled after trying to take the ball around Özer.

“We probably could have scored another couple of goals but Lille could have scored a couple themselves,” McGinn said. “It was great for me to be back there helping the team and the more bodies we can get back the better.

“It was great to see Ollie get on the scoresheet with a header, he will probably be disappointed with the one-on-one. We showed signs of getting back to our best, but there is a long way to go. It is a tough little run of fixtures, Sunday is a massive game as well, but it was a good start.”

For Emery, it was his 100th win as Villa manager and he became the fastest to reach that club milestone.

“We played a very serious match,” he said. “We respected them, respected the competition and we know how difficult this match is with the atmosphere here, it can feel like the Champions League. It is huge motivation for the opponent.

“We prepared and planned this match with all those circumstances trying to be under our control. We progressively got better after the first half was equal. In the second half we felt confidence but always respecting them. Always we were organised, which was the first demand on the field.”

The Spaniard also suggested that Watkins should not be judged on goals alone, and that his team-mates also need to weigh in with their fair share. “Ollie is working. He is being consistent in his task,” Emery said. “If he is scoring, even better. We need other players as well and the most important thing is playing a serious match.”

Click here to read article