Aston Villa and Unai Emery needed a structural reset in Lille — they got one

There was an acceptance internally something needed to change after Chelsea.

Unai Emery’s repeated references to “structure” following a confusing, ragged 4-1 defeat were echoed within the changing room.

Aston Villa had strayed from what had underpinned much of their success. Injuries had destabilised the structure, naturally, but they were losing their way in how they operated. The defined tactical set-up had become convoluted and contradictory, crystallised against Chelsea.

Players appeared more vulnerable than ever before under Emery, unsure how to solve several issues gnawing away at the team’s core.

Villa’s run of one win in seven matches underlined a need for improvement but, equally, a return to basic foundations.

With eight days before they headed to northern France, players were given a few days off. The mood was understandably flat, with solace found in captain John McGinn returning to training late last week. Considering everything team-mates knew about McGinn — his ultra-professionalism, his leadership and how badly they had been missing both traits in his absence — it was inevitable he would push to return in Lille. 

Having a break away from Bodymoor Heath offered time for players and coaches to reset. Players anticipated Emery would want to come back reaffirming Villa needed to be harder to play against, with standards being raised once more in training.

With that in mind, it was not surprising that players who continue to have a cloud over them, most notably Emiliano Buendia and Ollie Watkins, were picked to start against Lille; they are excellent trainers, with their work rate and application not yet matched by those competing with them for a spot.

Working from that disciplined starting base would, as Emery has said publicly, “recover confidence” and, in all likelihood, be conducive to what Villa’s approach should be in the first leg of a Europa League knockout tie.

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Villa’s second-placed finish in the Europa League league phase was desperately valued. The reward was second-leg home advantage until the semi-finals, enabling Villa an opportunity to form a specific approach in each contest. Preferably, they would minimise risk on the road before opening up back in the Midlands.

This, too, aligns with Emery’s natural tendencies. For more than two decades, the Spaniard’s craft has been to keep his team organised in the opening passages of ties, or even standalone matches, before leaning on his nous in identifying the minutiae of opponents in the second leg, or second halves, in turn making tactical adjustments and ultimately deciding contests. 

Villa’s noteworthy victories under Emery often show this, including wins at Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur or Chelsea.

Emery did not quite have to be as cautious in Lille, with the Ligue 1 outfit weaker than they were when he last visited two years ago. Villa, in their current state, were too, even if they were meeting in the next rung up of the European ladder, having previously contested in the Conference League.

If the first tie resembled a high-voltage, all-thrilling action film, this one, a 1-0 victory, was more slow cinema. The drama which crescendoed with pantomime villain Emiliano Martinez being shown two yellow cards before winning a penalty shootout did not have a sequel. Lille’s starting XI in 2024, which included Bournemouth’s Bafode Diakite, Manchester United’s Leny Yoro, as well as Juventus’ Jonathan David and Paris Saint-Germain’s Lucas Chevalier had been gutted, while Villa were creaking.

Lille were dysfunctional in midfield and blunt in attack. Benjamin Andre and Nabil Bentaleb were concerned about leaving huge spaces for Buendia, who served as the spare player in Villa’s central overload, plus Morgan Rogers. Andre was substituted at the break, having spent the final minutes of the first half furiously pointing at his central defenders to step onto Villa’s attackers.

In possession, Villa’s shape was difficult to ascertain. Jadon Sancho drifted inside which meant, in practice, an extremely narrow front four. A superior, more cohesive Villa perhaps would have ripped through Lille’s midfield and killed the tie, yet this is a group in a rehabilitation phase.

Villa’s lowly expected goals rate of 0.51 — marginally better than Lille’s 0.32 — belied how frequent opportunities were presented in the final third. Frustratingly, most through balls were either misplaced or cut out by Lille’s last defender. Overhit crosses or underhit slide passes continued to pick away at the sense of irritation from supporters watching high above. Combined, Villa’s three creators supplying Watkins — Buendia, Sancho and Rogers — completed just seven passes in the final third.

It is human instinct to want to focus on the positives when going through a crisis of confidence. Emery knew this and rightly spoke about how his players’ overall structure was much improved, rather than the wayward end product. A 39-year-old Olivier Giroud was not going to test defenders’ legs in the same way Chelsea had, but Villa defended manfully and were comfortable throughout.

“In 90 minutes, it was an equal match, but playing organised, playing when we could dominate with the ball, through our possession, to create chances and I think we did (that),” Emery said after. “We didn’t concede a lot (of chances).”

Lille’s ultras’ attempts to rattle Villa were futile. A third season in European competitions means they have seen the banners, tifos and abrasive chants towards Martinez all before. This was a match to focus on themselves as much as anything, implementing or restoring a framework which returned Villa to the fundamentals, even if they remained lacking in quality. Playing a first leg away in Europe just so happened to be the ideal situation to do so.

“How we are recovering our confidence, the result was very important,” Emery added. “Today we played a serious match, organised with our structure.”

The nature of the game’s only goal was suitably baffling. Buendia and Watkins had been wasteful until the 61st minute, though combined through two rare headers. Ezri Konsa searched for Buendia to act as a target man, flicking the ball on for Watkins, whose perfectly weighted header looped into the net and marked Villa’s solitary shot on target.

What a goal that was 💥

Ollie Watkins lifts the ball over the Lille goalkeeper with his head to give Aston Villa the lead 💫

📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplus pic.twitter.com/pj5U5pMI8v

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) March 12, 2026

Watkins should have scored a second, with Villa guilty of failing to punish their porous opponents, yet Emery will argue a positive result should serve as the first building block in his team’s recovery.

Amadou Onana limited his customary punches to the crowd at full-time, both acknowledging the job was not done. This was Emery’s 100th victory as Villa manager, but it is no time to be getting carried away. Not yet.