Lille 2-1 Aston Villa (agg 3-3) – Europa Conference League: Live score, team news and updates as Matty Cash fires home late goal

We’re underway for extra-time! Will either side be able to find a winner or will we be treated to another penalty shoot-out?

Remy Cabella has been brought on for Gabriel Gudmundsson.

Tom Collomosse, Mail Sport, at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy:

Unai Emery has brought so much to Villa and tonight he has had the thing no manager can do without – luck.

His team had been second best all night and were showing little threat until a mix-up in the Lille defence gave them a way back in. Can they make it count in extra-time?

We’re heading to extra-time!

Things were looking bleak for Unai Emery’s side after Benjamin Andre gave Lille the lead in the tie with a header in the second-half.

The visitors created barely anything and struggled to find marksman Ollie Watkins near the Lille penalty area.

However, they did manage to find the back of the net through Matty Cash, who capitalised on a defensive mishap from the French side.

With extra-time looming, it’ll be interesting if either Emery or Fonseca make any tactical tweaks for the final period.

Can either side find a winning goal in the final moments? It’s 3-3 on aggregate.

What drama! Matty Cash has levelled the tie with a stunning strike – after a calamtious piece of defending from Lille.

There are boos ringing round the stadium now, with the home fans feeling hard done by but replays showed there was no foul.

Lucas Chevalier claimed a cross before colliding with his team-mate Nabil Bentaleb and watching the ball fall to the Villa full-back.

Cash made no mistake in smashing his effort into the back of the net and pulling Unai Emery’s side back into this tie. Game on.

Yusuf Yazici – who scored the opening goal tonight – is replaced by former Wolves winger Ivan Cavaleiro.

It may have taken until the 82nd minute but Villa have finally tested Lille’s Lucas Chevalier.

It was far from a clear-cut opportunity though, as Matty Cash drove a long-range effort at goal which the keeper was able to palm behind for a corner.

From that, Leon Bailey ended up having a strike at goal but the 22-year-old was able to gather rather easily.

Jhon Duran replaces John McGinn as Villa switch to an attacking formation.

Unai Emery is running out of options here. He’ll have to hope that the players out there can conjure up something special.

Angel Gomes replaces Hakon Haraldsson for the hosts.

Keep an eye on the ex-Man United midfielder, who’s been in impressive form for the French outfit in 2023-24.

Morgan Rogers becomes the fourth Aston Villa player to be cautioned after pushing Tiago Santos in the back.

That’s five in total for the visitors after Unai Emery was booked in the first-half.

All of a sudden, Aston Villa look full of energy.

It seems that Lille’s second was the real wake-up call for the visitors, who have a sense of urgency in their play now.

They’re charging forward down the flanks and looking to get Ollie Watkins involved, one way or another.

Whether it’ll all be too little and too late for Unai Emery’s team remains to be seen.

Lille have the lead thanks to their captain, Benjamin Andre!

There was a lot of talk about Villa’s set-piece tactics ahead of the game and it’s come back to haunt them, as Andre nods home from a corner.

The visitors stood and watched as the Frenchman rose highest and powered a header off the post and into the back of the net.

Its now 3-2 to Lille on aggregate. How will Villa respond?

Well, Unai Emery has immediately substituted Leon Bailey on in place of Moussa Diaby.

Lucas Digne is the latest to be shown a yellow card after taking out Tiago Santos.

He can have no arguments with that one after clearing obstracting his opposing full-back.

Against the run of play, Matty Cash nearly fires Villa level!

The full-back made a maruading run up the pitch and collected the ball neatly inside the box before firing into the side netting.

While Lucas Chevalier didn’t look too concerned, it’s certainly a positive sign for Unai Emery’s side.

Both sides appear to have picked up where they left off from the first-half. Lille are being brave, while Villa are timid.

The visitors can barely string a sequence of passes together and are resorting to going long to have relief.

Surely things will have to change otherwise you get the feeling Lille might find another shortly…

The hosts nearly double their lead within the first minute of the restart!

Villa give the ball away cheaply in defence and Hakon Haraldsson was able to pounce but dragged his effort just wide of the goal.

An early warning sign for Unai Emery’s team.

We’re back underway in Lille!

It may not have been pretty but Emiliano Martinez peformed a stunning save with his face in that frantic first-half.

The Argentine managed to get in the way of Benjamin Andre’s header which looked destined to ripple the net.

After booing him all half, Lille fans might have enjoyed that painful one for Martinez.

Tom Collomosse, Mail Sport, at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy:

Villa need to wake up. McGinn is chuntering at the referee but he’d be as wise to do the same to his team-mates – they’re in second gear against a good Lille team, but not an outstanding one.

It’s been a bizarre performance from Martinez, who seems intent on winding up the crowd – he was even booked for time-wasting *after* Lille had scored their opener, making the aggregate score level.

Well, that certainly wasn’t the first-half Villa fans hoped for.

Unai Emery’s side looked bereft of ideas on the pitch, as they succumbed to the pressure of Lille and the bellowing home crowd.

A couple of half-chances for Douglas Luiz and Matty Cash are the only postives for the visitors, who have it all to do in the second-half.

Meanwhile, for Paulo Fonseca, he will be asking for more of the same from his side after a dominant first-half display.

While they’ve had few other clear-cut opportunities, Yusuf Yazici’s strike has filled them with confidence in this tie.

Villa’s best chance of the half comes in the final moments.

The visitors launch a long-throw into the box and it finds it’s way to Douglas Luiz, who fires an effort over the crossbar.

The referee did blow for a free-kick anyway, so it likely wouldn’t have stood, but at least it’s a shot at goal.

There’s yellow cards flying all over the place!

Lille captain Benjamin Andre is initially shown a caution after bringing down Morgan Rogers inside his own-half.

Before, moments later, Unai Emery and Paulo Fonseca are shown yellow cards – presumably for contesting with the official’s decision.

Lille’s Nabil Bentaleb is shown a yellow card after stopping a counter-attack by pulling his man down.

The former Tottenham midfielder has been controlling a lot of the player so far and Lille will need him to stay on the pitch.

Emiliano Martinez is cautioned by the referee after time-wasting at a goal-kick.

The official sprinted over and appeared to indicate that the Villa goalkeeper had done it multiple times in the match already.

Martinez been the centre of attention this evening and that doesn’t appear to be changing any time soon.

Villa are really struggling to find their rhythm.

They’ve offered very little going forward – with Leon Bailey and Ollie Watkins having barely touched the ball in the opening half an hour.

They’ll have to figure out a way to get their danger men involved in the match, if they want to salvage this quarter-final tie.

Unai Emery seems to be giving that exact instruction, as he furiously waves to his players from the touchline.

Nicolo Zaniolo has been forced off with an injury and is replaced by Morgan Rogers.

The Italian appeared to land awkwardly after being challenged on the half-way line and looked uneasy when getting back to his feet.

Tom Collomosse, Mail Sport, at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy:

Having made a brilliant reaction save from Benjamin Andre, Martinez then collapsed in the back of the goal, hand on his head. He’s back up now but not clear if he was hit by something thrown from the crowd.

Meanwhile, stretcher on for Zaniolo who seems to have a problem with his hip

Emiliano Martinez won’t have done his reputation here any favours after producing a stunning save – with his face!

The hosts are not resting on their laurels and nearly found a second goal, as Benjamin Andre flicked a header at goal.

The Villa keeper barely knew anything about it but he won’t mind, as he keeps his side level in the tie.

The Villa playmaker is the first player to go into the referee’s book after appearing to push his opponent off the ball.

Nothing cynical in it.

Tom Collomosse, Mail Sport, at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy:

That might be no bad thing for Villa. As a colleague in the press box next to me just remarked, they were playing as though they had a 2-0 lead to protect, rather than 2-1.

Lille’s opener should give Villa a little more focus after such an iffy start.

What a strike from Yusuf Yazici!

The hosts have been dominating the opening stages of this match and have a goal to show for it after a neat link-up unlocked Villa’s defence.

The Turkey international got on the end of a sublime cross by Gabriel Gudmundsson and smashed the ball into the net.

It’s 2-2 on aggregate now. Can Unai Emery’s side find a quick response?

Are the crowd beginning to get to Emiliano Martinez?

Having been boo’d constantly, the Villa goalkeeper has now spilled a simple cross at a corner, before recovering to palm it away.

Nervy times for the Argentine. And there’s still 80 minutes to play.

A half-chance for the hosts.

The ball is crossed in at pace and a Villa defender can only swing his leg past the ball before it landed to Hakon Haraldsson.

The 21-year-old, however, also fluffs his lines and can’t make a clean connection with it. Warning signs.

It’s fair to say that Emiliano Martinez is an unpopular figure in Lille.

In the brief moments when the Aston Villa goalkeeper has had the ball, the home supporters are quick to start jeering.

It seems that his role in Argentina’s World Cup victory over France – and his comments on Kylian Mbappe – have not been forgotten.

Lille get us underway!

The home crowd are absolutely buzzing with energy now. Will their side put in a performance to match it?

Both sides are making their way out onto the pitch amidst a cauldron of noise from the home fans.

Villa will have been well prepared for the hostility, prior to kick-off, but it’s fair to say that some nerves will be tested tonight.

Tom Collomosse, Mail Sport, at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy:

Must admit I’m surprised to see so many empty seats 10 minutes before kick-off. The capacity here is 50,000 and the club were expecting about 47,500 (including 2,600 from Villa).

Not too much interest from the prawn sandwich seats on the middle tier so far…

Though it may have gone unnoticed, John McGinn has been enjoying the most prolific goalscoring season of his career.

The Scotland international has nine goals in all competitions – with three of those coming in tonight’s competition.

He’s certainly not one of the first names that comes to mind when thinking who could pop up with a Villa goal but, given his recent form, it’d be foolish to count him out.

Tom Collomosse, Mail Sport, at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy:

Keep a close eye on set pieces tonight. Lille boss Paulo Fonseca was unhappy with Villa markers’ blocking tactics in the first leg and sent a clear message to the officials pre-match.

Villa took a dim view of that, it’s fair to say. There could be fireworks on the touchline as well as the pitch, after Emery’s assistant Pako Ayestaran was sent off in the first leg.

It’s safe to say that, aside from Villa, English sides have been pretty underwhelming in Europe over the past week.

Arsenal and Manchester City were dumped out of the Champions League last night, leaving zero English teams in the competition.

Meanwhile, Liverpool and West Ham both suffered defeats in their Europa League first leg ties – which they’ll look to overturn tonight.

Villa, therefore, can become the first Premier League side to book their place in the semi-finals of a European competition, as long as they avoid a slip-up tonight.

Tom Collomosse, Mail Sport, at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy:

A few to look out for in the Lille side. Jonathan David has been a consistent scorer in Ligue 1 and will surely move this summer – more from Mail Sport here.

Centre-back Leny Yoro struggled against Ollie Watkins but is highly regarded, and I loved the look of Icelandic playmaker Hakon Haraldsson.

Meanwhile, Emi Martinez has just come out for the warm up to an absolute volley from the home end. Spicy evening ahead.

If you were to take a look at the home supporters in the Stade Pierre-Mauroy, you’d have thought that Lille had just won the tie.

One section of the French fans are already in the stadium and singing their hearts out, as both sets of players begin to warm-up.

There’s been a particularly frosty reception for Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, who’s role in Argentina’s World Cup victory has not been forgotten.

Bizarelly, there’s barely anyone else in the stadium.

Tom Collomosse, Mail Sport, at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy:

It’ll be fascinating to see Emery’s plan tonight. Big call to leave Bailey on the bench, even though Villa are protecting a lead – he’s one of two reliable matchwinners in this side.

Huge show of faith in Zaniolo who will almost certainly leave Villa in the summer when his loan spell ends

The England international has, quite simply, been sensational.

From 45 appearances this term, Watkins has found the back of the net on 26 occasions – 19 of those coming in the Premier League.

He’s found the back of the net four times in the Conference League, including a header in the first leg.

And, after his deft chip which stunned Arsenal, the Villa striker will be the number one danger man for Lille this evening.

Unai Emery makes two changes from their win against Arsenal, as Matty Cash and Douglas Luiz in for Diego Carlos and Morgan Rogers.

That’ll see Ezri Konsa shift back into his natural central position, as opposed to the full-back role he played at the Emirates.

Meanwhile, the hosts bring Yusuf Yazici into their attack, in their only change from their defeat from the first leg.

Lille XI: Chevalier, Tiago Santos, Diakite, Yoro, Ismaily, Andre, Bentaleb, Yazici, Haraldsson, Gudmundsson, David.

Subs: Mannone, Ngrel, Alexsandro, Gomes, Cabella, Ounas, Cavaleiro, Morais, Bouaddi, Toure, Ferrah.

Villa XI: Martinez, Cash, Konsa, Pau, Digne, Luiz, Tielemans, Diaby, Zaniolo, McGinn, Watkins.

Subs: Olsen, Gauci, Carlos, Lenglet, Duran, Rogers, Kelser-Hayden, Bailey, Iroegbunam, Munroe, Kellyman.

Since picking up a 2-1 win against their French opponents last Thursday, Villa continued their good form with a victory over Arsenal.

Unai Emery’s side struck twice late on – through Leon Bailey and Ollie Watkins – to stun the title-chasing Gunners.

Their performance against Lille in the first leg will still be fresh in their minds as well.

The Premier League side dominated the majority of the game, barring a late strike from Bafodé Diakite.

So, while they may be entering an uncomfortable atmosphere at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy, the visitors will be full of confidence.

Tonight is the night for Aston Villa.

Unai Emery’s side are looking to make history as they head into the second leg of their Europa Conference League quarter-final with Lille.

Villa hold a 2-1 league from their clash a week ago, Ollie Watkins and John McGinn struck to give them advantage at half-time of the tie.

The French side will have the crowd behind them tonight, who will certainly look to put unnerve the visitors.

So strap yourselves in, because this promises to be an exciting affair.