LILLE STUNNED BY LATE VILLA BREAKTHROUGH.

LOSC Lille suffered a frustrating 1-0 defeat to Aston Villa after a late breakthrough in
the first leg of their UEFA Europa League round-of-16 tie at Stade Pierre-Mauroy.
A cagey contest offered few chances in the opening hour, with both sides struggling
to create meaningful opportunities.
Lille’s best moment before the break saw Romain Perraud test Emiliano Martínez
from distance.
However, the visitors struck against the run of the game when Ollie Watkins headed
home after a hopeful ball from Ezri Konsa was flicked on by Emiliano Buendía.
Lille pushed late on but could not break through, leaving them with work to do in the next
week’s return leg in Birmingham.