Aston Villa fight back to beat Lille on penalties in Conference League quarter-finals

Aston Villa secured their spot in the semi-finals of the UEFA Europa Conference League by triumphing 4-3 in a penalty shootout against LOSC Lille following a 2-1 loss on the night and a 3-3 aggregate draw. This marks the first time in 21 years that the English team has reached the final four of a European competition.

With only three matches standing between either team and the final in Athens, both sides can dare to dream of achieving rare European success. Villa has only won continental silverware once, 42 years ago in the European Cup, while Lille, apart from one Intertoto Cup victory, has never claimed the top spot in a UEFA competition.

Despite trailing 2-1 after the first leg, Lille took the initiative early on in the match. Jonathan David's volley over the bar in the 10th minute marked the first attempt of the game, and by the 15th minute, Les Dogues had taken the lead.

Gabriel Gudmundsson delivered a low cross into the penalty area, where Yusuf Yazici was waiting to slot home a first-time shot into the bottom corner.

Emiliano Martinez was forced to make a crucial save to deny Yazici's header, with the ball hitting him in the face in the process.

In the end, Villa may have been fortunate that Lille only managed to score one goal before halftime.

Little changed following the break. The visitors managed to fire a shot in anger when Matty Cash hit the side netting from inside the area, but they continued to lack bite and applied minimal pressure.

On the other hand, Lille remained optimistic and, although they were not bombarding Martinez between the Villans' posts, they appeared more likely to score.

This was evident midway through the second half when Benjamin Andre redirected Hakon Arnar Haraldsson’s corner into the net via the post.

Considering Unai Emery’s squad defeated Premier League title contenders Arsenal 2-0 at the Emirates Stadium over the weekend, their lackluster performance was unexpected.

Apart from Cash's long-range effort that tested Lucas Chevalier, they failed to pose a threat.

Nonetheless, on the verge of elimination, they received a lifeline as a collision between Bentaleb and Chevalier led to Cash scoring via a deflection to force the match into extra time.

Boosted by the intervention of the Poland international, Villa significantly improved in the additional 30 minutes. If not for two remarkable saves from Chevalier, denying Leon Bailey's attempt and then pushing Douglas Luiz's headed rebound over the crossbar, they would have taken the lead.

The last chance in regular time fell to Jhon Duran, but Chevalier once again came up with a save. Consequently, the outcome had to be determined by penalties.

Following a miss from each team, Martinez, who was on the brink of a red card even during the penalty shootout, saved Andre's penalty to guide his team to victory.

In the second leg, Villa were second best, but they stood firm and got the job done, and now, Olympiacos or Fenerbahce await.