‘We Are Still Alive’ – Lille Star Sends Aston Villa Defiant Message
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Lille star Nabil Bentaleb has warned Aston Villa that the Europa League tie between the two sides is still very much alive, after the Villans picked up a narrow 1-0 win against the Ligue 1 club.
The Birmingham-based club are currently sitting fourth in the Premier League table, having fallen off the title race pace in recent weeks.
Amid the form dip, one former Premier League striker made it clear that Unai Emery has to take his fair share of the criticism for the club’s recent underwhelming results.
However, Villa are doing well in Europe and they defeated French outfit Lille in their latest Europa League tie at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy on Thursday.
A second-half strike from hitman Ollie Watkins was enough to see Emery’s men take a goal advantage to Villa Park next week.
Les Dogues suffered a narrow defeat to the Villa Park outfit, but they are not ready to give up before the second leg of the tie.
Lille midfield star Bentaleb, who played the whole game against Aston Villa, referenced the playoff tie against Red Star Belgrade, which the side turned around in the second leg after suffering a 1-0 defeat in the opening leg.
The former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder is confident that Lille are very much alive in the tie, stressing that it would have been complicated if Aston Villa scored two or three times in Lille.
“It will be a good match because we are still alive”, Bentaleb said via French radio station RMC after the match.
“Losing 2-0 or 3-0 would have been more complicated.
“We saw that in the previous round against Red Star Belgrade.
“We lost at home (1-0) in a catastrophic match. Then we went there and qualified with a completely different face (2-0 victory).
“Today [Thursday], it’s not a catastrophic match for us, but I think we can do better at Villa Park.”
Aston Villa will start the second leg as favourites to get the job done despite Bentaleb’s words.
And Aston Villa will look to win the Europa League to secure a major trophy and get themselves a place in next year’s Champions League, with the battle for a top five spot in the Premier League intense.
Now it remains to be seen if Bruno Genesio’s side will be able to overturn the deficit at Villa Park on Thursday.
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