Villa thrash Ajax to progress in Conference League, Olympiacos joy

Aston Villa's Ollie Watkins celebrates scoring their side's first goal of the game during the UEFA Europa League Round of 16, second leg soccer match between Aston Villa and Ajax at Villa Park. Martin Rickett/PA Wire/dpa

Ollie Watkins netted again to help Aston Villa reach the Conference League last eight following a 4-0 home victory over Ajax Amsterdam on Thursday, while Olympiacos sealed an epic comeback to also go through.

The England striker, named in the latest Three Lions squad for friendlies later this month, headed in a first-half corner for his third of the competition and 22nd of the season. He did however give club and country a scare by limping off injured.

Leon Bailey extended Villa's lead in the second period before Ajax's Sivert Mannsverk was dismissed. Jhon Duran and Moussa Diaby then added the gloss as the 1982 European champions eliminated the Dutch giants following a 0-0 draw in the first leg last week.

Bailey told TNT Sports: "It's an exciting moment for everyone. We should all be proud of where we are. We've worked very hard to be where we are. Enjoy the moment and stay humble and hopefully we can move further."

On Watkins' injury, the Jamaican added: "It looked really bad when I saw it. It was an open wound."

Fiorentina nudged into the quarter-finals of Europe's third-tier competition after a 1-1 home draw with Maccabi Haifa secured a 5-4 aggregate victory.

Antonín Barák headed home in the second half in Florence and Anan Khalaili's goal two minutes from time came too late for the Israelis.

Maccabi Tel Aviv, Israel's other side in the competition, led Olympiacos 4-1 heading into the second leg played on neutral turf in Serbia. But the Piraeus side stormed back to level the tie at 5-5 and scored twice more in extra time for a 6-1 away triumph and 7-5 aggregate success.

Fellow Greeks PAOK Salonika were at it too, beating Dinamo Zagreb 5-1 on the night and 5-3 overall in an impressive turnaround, Konstantinos Koulierakis' goal on 72 minutes making the difference for the hosts before Andrija Zivković's penalty.

Lille coasted through after a 1-1 home draw against Sturm Graz following a 3-0 win in the first leg in Austria.

Fenerbahce went through 3-1 on aggregate despite suffering a 1-0 defeat in Istanbul to Saint Gilloise.

Club Brugge secured a 3-0 victory at home to Molde to win 4-2 overall.

Viktoria Plzen against Servette went to penalties after no goals in either leg, but the Czechs eventually prevailed 3-1 in the shoot-out.

The draw for April's open quarter-finals is on Friday.

Aston Villa's Ollie Watkins celebrates scoring his side's first goal of the game during the UEFA Europa League Round of 16, second leg soccer match between Aston Villa and Ajax at Villa Park. Martin Rickett/PA Wire/dpa
Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez celebrates their side's first goal of the game by teammate Ollie Watkins (not pictured) during the UEFA Europa League Round of 16, second leg soccer match between Aston Villa and Ajax at Villa Park. Nick Potts/PA Wire/dpa
Aston Villa's Ollie Watkins attempts on block the kick of Ajax's Diant Ramaj during the UEFA Europa League Round of 16, second leg soccer match between Aston Villa and Ajax at Villa Park. Martin Rickett/PA Wire/dpa
Fiorentina's Antonin Barak (R) scores his side's first goal of the game during the UEFA Conference League round of 16 second leg soccer match between Fiorentina and Maccabi Haifa FC at Artemio Franchi Stadium. Massimo Paolone/LaPresse via ZUMA Press/dpa
Fiorentina's cristiano Biraghi and Maccabi Haifa's Frantzdy Pierrot (R) battle for the ball during the UEFA Conference League round of 16 second leg soccer match between Fiorentina and Maccabi Haifa FC at Artemio Franchi Stadium. Massimo Paolone/LaPresse via ZUMA Press/dpa
Sturm Graz's Mika Miles Biereth (L), Lille's Gabriel Gudmandsson (C) and Alexsandro battle for the ball during the UEFA Europa Conference League round of 16 second leg soccer match between OSC Lille and SK Sturm Graz at Stade Pierre Mauroy. Erwin Scheriau/APA/dpa
Sturm Graz's Stefan Hierlaender (2nd R) and Lille's Alexsandro (R) battle for the ball during the UEFA Europa Conference League round of 16 second leg soccer match between OSC Lille and SK Sturm Graz at Stade Pierre Mauroy. Erwin Scheriau/APA/dpa
Lille's Tiago Santos (L) and Sturm Graz's Jon Gorenc Stankovic (R) battle for the ball during the UEFA Europa Conference League round of 16 second leg soccer match between LOSC Lille and SK Sturm Graz at Decathlon Arena. Erwin Scheriau/APA/dpa
Club Brugge's Andreas Skov Olsen and Molde's Kristian Eriksen battle for the ball during the UEFA Europa Conference League round of 16 second leg soccer match between Club Brugge KV and Molde FK at Jan Breydel Stadium. Kurt Desplenter/Belga/dpa
Club Brugge's Andreas Skov Olsen and Molde's Mathias Fjortoft Lovik battle for the ball during the UEFA Europa Conference League round of 16 second leg soccer match between Club Brugge KV and Molde FK at Jan Breydel Stadium. Kurt Desplenter/Belga/dpa
Club Brugge's Maxime De Cuyper and Molde's Fredrik Gulbrandsen battle for the ball during the UEFA Europa Conference League round of 16 second leg soccer match between Club Brugge KV and Molde FK at Jan Breydel Stadium. Kurt Desplenter/Belga/dpa
Fiorentina's Antonin Barak celebrates his side's first goal of the game during the UEFA Conference League round of 16 second leg soccer match between Fiorentina and Maccabi Haifa FC at Artemio Franchi Stadium. Massimo Paolone/LaPresse via ZUMA Press/dpa
Aston Villa's Ollie Watkins celebrates scoring their side's first goal of the game during the UEFA Europa League Round of 16, second leg soccer match between Aston Villa and Ajax at Villa Park. Martin Rickett/PA Wire/dpa

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