Unai Emery was a proud man after his Aston Villa team overcame adversity to triumph against LOSC Lille and reach the Europa Conference League semi-finals.
The visitors’ first-leg lead was wiped out in the first half before they fell behind on aggregate when Benjamin André made it 2-0 on the night.
Villa kept fighting and levelled the tie with three minutes left in normal time before holding their nerve in the penalty shootout to reach the last four.
“I’m very proud of our work and very happy,” he said.
“Playing quarter-finals in Europe is always very difficult. This year we’ve played against Legia Warszawa, AZ Alkmaar, HŠK Zrinjski and Ajax and always it was very difficult and it was a good example for today.
“We had an advantage – 2-1 – from the first leg and I knew that it was not enough, but it was important to get an advantage from home.
“Today we struggled in the first half and we didn’t play like we are more or less playing. In the second half, we were getting better and then when they scored the second goal it was a difficult moment.
“We were always trying to keep balance and have our gameplan in our minds. We scored the goal and we had the possibility to play extra-time and penalties.
“We were accepting everything because the most important thing is being resilient and being strong in our minds with our gameplan. It was a difficult match we were playing, respecting the opponent.
“Here at home they were feeling strong. At the end, we won and I’m very happy for our supporters because we’re going to play in the semi-finals. It’s important for the supporters and for us as professionals.”
A first semi-final appearance in a major European competition since 1982 is Villa’s reward for their success in northern France, and they will face either Olympiacos or Fenerbahçe for a place in the final.
Emery is excited by that prospect but will keep his side focused on their upcoming Premier League game against Bournemouth on Sunday.
He said: “Now we will enjoy the moment and prepare as best as possible for the semi-finals.
“We will try to enjoy the moment we are having here with Aston Villa supporters and the workers here. We will be demanding because with this step the next objective is to beat our semi-final opponent.
“We will try to get the possibility to enjoy a final, but now we will try to share our moment on Sunday in the Premier League.”
