Aston Villa boss Unai Emery revealed his pride after seeing his side advance to the semi-finals of the Europa Conference League on Thursday night.
Villa eventually overcame Lille on penalties after the tie finished 3-3 on aggregate after extra-time, with Emiliano Martinez’s heroics in the penalty shootout helping us to progress.
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As expected, it proved to be a difficult night in France, as the Ligue 1 side were impressive throughout and made it very tough for Villa to find any control or rhythm in our play.
Having overturned their deficit from the first leg, Matty Cash struck late on to force extra-time, before Villa held their nerve in the shootout to seal a place in the last four of the competition.
Emery conceded that it was a difficult night as we were second best throughout, but unsurprisingly, he was delighted that we were able to find a way to make it through.
“Of course as coaches we can try and use our experiences to help in every match,” he said, as per BBC Sport. “Here in Lille, it was a difficult match against a difficult team. They are very organised and very competitive so they were very focused. But we did it!
“I try to understand each moment in how we were on the pitch and not get frustrated. They were better than us in the first half but then we scored a goal.
“With penalties it is just about keeping calm and that is what I was saying to the players. I think in the end it was fantastic.”
Whether or not fatigue was a factor given our seemingly low intensity and energy throughout the clash is unclear, but the Villa squad will have to recharge and regroup over the next two days to get ready for the visit of Bournemouth on Sunday.
It promises to be another tough test, but having triumphed in the penalty shootout on Thursday night, that will hopefully lift spirits and ensure the players are capable of keeping our momentum going as we continue our pursuit of Champions League qualification.
What is clear is that these crucial experiences away from home in Europe are vital for the development and maturity of this Villa squad, as we’ll need to draw on these nights to ensure we’re better prepared as we continue to compete at the top level both in this competition this year and hopefully at Europe’s top table next season.
