Aston Villa looked to be cruising to a comfortable home victory over Chelsea on Friday night, but a pair of second-half goals from the visitors salvaged a 2-2 draw at Villa Park in a dramatic Premier League matchup.
Villa raced out to an early lead, scoring in just the 4th minute when John McGinn pounced on a loose ball in the box and fired home from close range. The home side continued to control play and doubled their advantage in the 38th minute through Ollie Watkins, who cleverly chipped the keeper after latching onto a through ball.
In a night of high drama, Aston Villa’s Argentine goalkeeper Emi Martinez etched his name into European folklore with a controversial yet heroic performance against Lille in the Europa Conference League quarter-finals. Despite being booked twice, Martinez stayed on the pitch and ultimately proved to be the shootout hero, saving the decisive penalty to send Villa into the semi-finals.
The incident that set tongues wagging occurred during the tense penalty shootout, which followed a pulsating 3-3 aggregate scoreline after extra time.
Aston Villa manager Unai Emery has his sights set on adding another European trophy to his impressive collection as his side prepares for the second leg of their UEFA Europa Conference League quarter-final tie against French Ligue 1 club Lille.
Villa take a narrow 2-1 lead into the return fixture in France following last week’s gutsy first leg victory at Villa Park. Ollie Watkins’ first-half header and a spectacular long-range strike from John McGinn gave the hosts a commanding 2-0 advantage, only for Bafode Diakite to halve the deficit late on for Lille with an important away goal.
Aston Villa’s head coach, Unai Emery, has made a bold statement with his team selection for today’s highly anticipated Premier League clash against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium. In a move that has caught many by surprise, Emery has opted to make two changes to the side that secured a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Lille in the Europa Conference League just three days ago.
The headlines will undoubtedly revolve around the inclusions of the exciting duo, Nicolo Zaniolo and Moussa Diaby, who have been handed starts in place of the suspended Douglas Luiz and the benched Leon Bailey.
Arsenal’s title chase continues as they host Aston Villa at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday afternoon, with manager Mikel Arteta making some crucial changes to his starting lineup. Despite concerns over Bukayo Saka’s fitness after he appeared to be hobbling in the team’s previous match against Bayern Munich, the talented winger has been named in the starting XI.
Arteta has made three alterations to the side that drew 2-2 with the German giants in midweek, with Oleksandr Zinchenko, Leandro Trossard, and Gabriel Jesus coming in to replace Jakub Kiwior, Jorginho, and Gabriel Martinelli.
As the European campaign intensifies, Aston Villa manager Unai Emery has emphatically shut down any potential distractions surrounding his side’s forthcoming Premier League clash against former employers Arsenal. With Villa readying for their Europa Conference League quarter-final first leg against French outfit Lille, Emery’s singular focus lies squarely on progressing in the continent’s third-tier competition.
“No way,” the Spaniard asserted when questioned if the Arsenal fixture could influence his team selection for Thursday’s European tie.
