Deprived of exploit. On their lawn, Lille could have qualified for the first time in their history in the semi-final of a European competition. But at the end of a thrilling match, full of twists and turns and a good dose of injustice, it was Aston Villa who won their ticket to the last four. The penalty shootout, which punctuated the evening, will remain as one of the worst nightmares for northern supporters.
However, they believed in it for a long time. Because their player had an almost perfect match, with the self-sacrifice necessary to overthrow mountains. After barely 15 minutes of play, Yusuf Yacizi's left foot set the overheated Pierre-Mauroy stadium on fire well before kick-off. Well served by Gudmundsson, Yazici opened the scoring and launched the revolt against a defense that was static to say the least.
The English may well have control of the ball (60 vs 40%), but they do not have control of the game. Losc easily annihilates the attacks of Unai Emery's players who reach the break with no shots.
The tide definitely seemed to turn in the second period when Lille scored a second goal on a header from their captain Benjamin André. Lille are in control and are heading towards a magnificent qualification in front of a crowd overjoyed. But the evening will suddenly take a very bad turn. In a confused action, Lucas Chevalier is pushed by one of his partners who was himself pushed by an English attacker. The goalkeeper releases a ball which Matty Cash converts. Using VAR changes nothing. The goal is awarded.
The extension did not achieve anything, Chevalier making excellent interventions. But everything will be decided during the penalty shootout where the disastrous Dibu Martinez once again came to the fore, not in the best way... Dismayed throughout the match by the northern public, he responded by putting the finger to his lips after stopping Nabil Bentaleb's attempt. The referee then gave him a yellow card... even though the Argentinian had already received a warning in the 39th minute.
But the executioner of the Blues in 2022 remained on the field. And for good reason: “The penalty shootout is
outside the match
. However, a player can be warned twice during the session and be sent off. He may also receive a direct red card,” specifies Ifab, the body which governs the rules of football. Martinez was therefore able to finish the match. And stop Benjamin André's last attempt, to bury Lille's hopes. “We remember the defeat and it’s disappointing,” sighs Jonathan David on RMC. We fought until the end, but it wasn't our day. We wanted to win the match in regulation time, that didn't happen. It's a tactical match afterwards, no one wants to go out there and lose the match. It's true that they have a good goalkeeper for penalties, but we had our chances. It was a great journey, we will come back stronger. »
Impressive since entering the Europa Conference League, Lille experienced their only defeat in the competition during the quarter-final first leg against Aston Villa last week. They leave the European scene with their heads held high. Missing out on a historic feat. Qualified, Aston Villa will have to show just as much determination against Olympiakos (Greece) or Fenerbahçe (Turkey).