Sky Sports pundit Lee Hendrie was wowed by what he saw one Aston Villa player do during the 2-1 win over Lille on Thursday.
Unai Emery’s side overcame a late scare to secure a lead ahead of next week’s second leg in northern France.
Ollie Watkins netted his 25th goal of the season in the 13th minute before John McGinn doubled Villa’s lead in the second half.
Gabrial Gundmundsson thought he’d halved the deficit, only for his finish to be ruled out for a narrow offside. However, Emery’s men couldn’t register a clean sheet as Bafode Diakite netted in the 84th minute for Paulo Fonesca’s side.
The hosts held on despite late pressure and take a narrow advantage across the Channel. Hendrie, who was covering the game on Sky Sports, was particularly impressed with what one player did in the first half.
Lee Hendrie wowed by ‘absolutely superb’ Aston Villa star Ollie Watkins
Watkins’ header appeared, at first glance, to be a relatively straightforward opportunity. Yet, Hendrie was impressed with the 28-year-old’s “superb” opener for the hosts.
“The man Watkins, what a header. Question marks over the defending. It was whipped in with pace. It’s quite deep, and he’s come in at pace and heads the ball right into the bottom far corner,” he said [20:14, 11 April].
“I don’t think any goalkeeper would’ve saved it. It’s an absolute dream start for Unai Emery. He’s stepped up all season.
“There’s no doubt. When things haven’t been quite going, he works areas and occupies centre-halves; you only have to look at his goal involvement this season. This is absolutely superb; the atmosphere has gone up a notch.”
Happy with that result, Aston Villa fans?
Villa fans would’ve taken a narrow win before the game, and that’s what they will take to northern France next week.
Emery will be confident in his side’s ability to get the job done, although it will certainly be a step up from their away tussle with Ajax last month.
Defensively, Villa need to cut down the number of shots on Emi Martinez’s goal. Per FotMob, Lille managed four efforts on goal in the first half, which is too many in a European quarter-final.
The Spaniard has been a staunch believer in his high line this season, but looking to deploy slightly more conservative tactics could reap rewards.
But it’s important to trust the Villa boss. He knows how to navigate the latter stages of European competitions and is more than capable of guiding his squad through to the semi-final.
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