VIDEO. Europa Conference League: an infernal Martinez with two yellow cards disgusts Lille and qualifies Aston Villa in the semi-final

Le gardien argentin a été encore une fois décisif pour Aston Villa. MAXPPP – MOHAMMED BADRA

Having come very close to the perfect match, Lille will ultimately have only regrets, eliminated on penalties at home on Thursday by Aston Villa and its goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez in the quarterfinals of the Europa Conference League after leading 2 to 0 until ;in the 87th minute.

Defeated 2 to 1 in the first leg, Lille won with this score in the return, pushing the two clubs towards a penalty shootout where the Villans goalkeeper reigned supreme, repelling two attempts including that of Benjamin André to qualify for the semi-final.

Public enemy N.1 in France since the World Cup final won by the Albiceleste against the Blues, and the provocations of which he was subsequently the author towards Kylian Mbappé, "Dibu" Martinez was the perfect antihero of this Homeric encounter.

However, nothing was spared him. Jeered at by the Stade Pierre-Mauroy with each touch of the ball, author of a save by taking the ball in the face (25th), warned of a yellow card twice without it being synonymous with ;expulsion because during the match and then during the penalty shootout, Martinez never left his match.

MY FUCKING HEROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO pic.twitter.com/mMcanuSyLb

— Aston Villa 🇵🇸 (@MediaAstonVilla) April 18, 2024

Cash, money in the safe

But before him, the Villans had another hero: Matty Cash, scorer of the goal that changed everything at the very end of the match (87th). That this goal will stick in the minds of Lille players and supporters for a long time…hellip; Punished for their only real moment of absence by a deflected shot from the side after a ball released by goalkeeper Lucas Chevalier, the Mastiffs will harbor immense regrets as they cherished the hope of a "remonchtida".

Before that, they had the ideal match, biting in intensity, admirable in defensive solidity and inspired in attack. Paulo Fonseca's players brought together the ingredients they lacked in England a week ago: intensity and management of set pieces. They also saw their wish to see the Stade Pierre-Mauroy, unfortunately usually hushed, become a cauldron thanks to the support of the 47,000 Lille supporters.

In this hostile atmosphere towards the English club, Lille stifled the players of Unai Emery, whose weight of four Europa League trophies (three with Sevilla FC, one with Villarreal) did not seem then not weigh heavily during the match.

André, the emotional elevator

Losc punctuated their ideal start to the match with a sumptuous goal scored a quarter of an hour into the game by surprise guest Yusuf Yazici, starting in the absence of Edon Zhegrova, injured ankle. The Turk concluded with an uncontrolled strike (15th) a nice collective movement in which the penultimate passer was Gabriel Gudmundsson, another addition to the starting lineup at Villa Park.

Always as impressive, Lille were very close to doubling the score with a header from their captain Benjamin André after a free kick, but a great save from Emiliano Martinez prevented them from doing so, already . Martinez, however, had to bow when André this time victoriously took a corner well taken by Hakon Haraldsson (67th).

At this point in the game, luck seemed on Lille's side: the ball hit the crossbar then the post before going in. But that was before Cash's goal, absent in the first leg, and Villan better in attack despite his position being pushed back with numerous attempts (43rd, 56th, 83rd). It was undoubtedly at this moment that the Lille people lost this meeting which held out its arms to them.

The rest is a sensation of déjà vu for French supporters: Martinez dominates his element, disrupts Nabil Bentaleb then diverts his attempt before intimidating the Ultras of the Losc in silence with a finger on his lips. Then the hated enemy does it again, this time stopping that of Benjamin André, who came very close to hero status, just like Lille in its first European semi-final.