Aston Villa secured a commanding 2-0 win over Lille OSC at Villa Park on Thursday night, sealing a 3-0 aggregate triumph to book their place in the UEFA Europa League quarter-finals.
The hosts controlled possession early on but it was Lille who carved out the first real opportunity, as Ayyoub Bouaddi met a delivery from Ribeiro, only to send his header off target.
Villa nearly broke the deadlock before halftime when Amadou Onana rose to meet a corner from John McGinn, but his effort was brilliantly kept out by Berke Özer.
Moments into the second half, Emiliano Martínez produced a fine save to deny Bentaleb’s free kick and quickly sparked a counterattack.
The goalkeeper’s swift distribution released Jadon Sancho, who teed up McGinn to slot home and give Villa the lead.
Lille believed they had found a response around the hour mark through Olivier Giroud, but his finish was ruled out for offside.
Ollie Watkins came close to doubling the advantage but fired narrowly wide, while Sancho later struck the post as Villa pushed for a second.
The decisive goal eventually arrived in the 85th minute when Leon Bailey converted from close range after being set up by Watkins, putting the result beyond doubt.
Villa now await their quarter-final opponents, with either Bologna FC 1909 or AS Roma set to stand in their way.
