PLAYER RATINGS | Lille 0-1 Aston Villa: Ollie Watkins secures narrow lead against toothless Les Dogues | OneFootball

UEFA Europa League, Round of 16, 12/03/2026

Lille OSC hosted Aston Villa in the first leg of their UEFA Europa League Round of 16 clash in a rematch of their Europa Conference League quarter-final two years ago. 

The Match

Having struggled for form since the start of the calendar year, you could have forgiven Lille for showing some nerves. However, they weren’t to be cowed by the occasion as they controlled the ball well in the first half. 

Possession didn’t equate to many clear-cut chances for the hosts in the opening exchanges, and it was Aston Villa who looked the more dangerous side. The English guests were happy to wait for their moments and hit Les Dogues on the break. 

Ollie Watkins looked lively, but was closely watched by Aïssa Mandi, who made a couple of important interventions to frustrate the striker. It would take Lille until late in the half to finally begin showing their teeth, with Olivier Giroud’s close-range header beating Emiliano Martínez, but it was dragged just wide. 

Lille’s injury crisis widened with captain Benjamin André replaced by Ayyoub Bouaddi at half-time, while Gaëtan Perrin needed to be replaced shortly after the restart by Matias Fernandez-Pardo. 

After an hour where neither goal had been threatened too much, there was a burst of action, as Giroud threatened from a header down one end, before Watkins went and scored his down the other. 

Minutes later, Watkins should have made it two when he burst past the Lille defence and went one-on-one with Berke Özer. He took the ball past the goalkeeper, but then vaulted into the Lille-man. Any suggestions of foul play were emphatically waved away. 

As time ticked on, Lille pushed harder for an equaliser, but their disappointment in front of goal continued as they fell to a 1-0 defeat ahead of the decider next week in Birmingham. 

Lille Player Ratings

Berke Özer, 4

The weak link in a performance that was good if a little toothless from Les Dogues. He was meant to be the last line of defence for his teammates, but he was far too easily beaten. He was too far off his line and beaten easily by Watkins’ lobbed header. 

Romain Perraud, 5

Aïssa Mandi, 6

Likely Lille’s best player until the goal. It looked as if he could have done a lot better with his positioning, as he was late to challenge Watkins. Until then, he had the better of his duel with the striker.  

Chancel Mbemba, 6

Like Mandi, he had a good game with the notable exception of his involvement in the goal when he was beaten to a header by Buendia, a player he towers over. 

Tiago Santos, 5

Benjamin André, 6

Replaced at half-time by Ayyoub Bouaddi (7). The teenager was a surprise exclusion from the first team sheet as Bruno Génésio went with an experienced line-up, but showed creativity and grit when he replaced André. 

Nabil Bentaleb, 6

Gaëtan Perrin, 4

Hákon Arnar Haraldsson, 4

Ngal’ayel Mukau, 4

Olivier Giroud, 5

Very little service for the veteran striker. Did what he could with what he was given, but ultimately that wasn’t enough to scare the visitors. 

Selected Aston Villa Player Ratings

Emiliano Martínez, 6

A vociferous response from the crowd, who still consider him to be public enemy no.1. However, there wasn’t all that much for him to do. Lille tested him only on a few occasions, and he was more than a match for what were generally tame efforts. A yellow for time wasting. 

Morgan Rogers, 4

A couple of good chances for the forward, but he rushed his opportunities and snatched at his shots. A quiet evening, overshadowed by his countryman. 

Ollie Watkins, 7

He was kept quiet in the first half by Mandi, but created enough separation to do damage in the second half. He really should have gotten a second, but Villa will be happy enough with the narrow lead. 

GFFN | Nick Hartland