In Athens, Vicente Taborda converted from the spot two minutes from time as Panathinaikos overcame Real Betis 1-0 in a game where both sides were reduced to 10 players.
In the third-tier Conference League, Crystal Palace was held 0-0 in London by AEK Larnaca.
Meanwhile, AEK Athens moved closer to the quarterfinals with a 4-0 win at Celje, and two-time runner-up Fiorentina needed a stoppage-time penalty to beat Polish club Rakow 2-1.
Europa League Round-of-16 First Legs
Aston Villa 1-0 Lille
Ollie Watkins’ second-half header gave Aston Villa a 1-0 win over Lille on Thursday. Just past the hour mark, Ezri Konsa sent a deep pass that Emi Buendía headed to Watkins in the home team’s box. The England forward noticed goalkeeper Berke Özer was off his line before sending a looping header over him and into the net. Minutes later, Watkins wasted a chance to double the advantage when he failed to score in a one-on-one with the keeper. Villa was also boosted by the return from injury of captain John McGinn, who came on as a substitute in the 77th minute after missing seven weeks with a knee injury.
Nottingham Forest 0-1 Midtjylland
Substitute Guesung Cho headed in an 80th-minute winner for Danish club Midtjylland. Forest pressed throughout but failed to find the back of the net amid heavy rain at the City Ground and will face a tough job in Denmark in the second leg, with a crucial Premier League match against Fulham awaiting on Sunday. Nottingham also lost to Midtjylland at home in the opening phase in October.
All Square in Italy
In an all-Italian derby, Bologna and Roma drew 1-1. Federico Bernardeschi scored for host Bologna early in the second half to take a 1-0 lead against Roma. Substitute Lorenzo Pellegrini equalized just five minutes after he came off the bench. The tie remains wide open, though Roma will take more experience into next week’s second leg. Roma was runner-up twice, including in 2023, in this competition, and coach Gian Piero Gasperini won the Europa League two years ago with Atalanta.
Porto 2-1 Stuttgart
Terem Moffi and Rodrigo Mora scored six minutes apart in the first half for Porto before Deniz Undav netted for Stuttgart just before the interval.
Freiburg 0-1 Genk
Another Bundesliga team, Freiburg, needs to overturn a 1-0 defeat in Belgium.
Lyon 1-1 Celta Vigo
Brazilian forward Endrick scored late to salvage a draw for Lyon at 10-man Celta Vigo. Celta led on a first-half goal by Javi Rueda before striker Borja Iglesias received a second yellow 10 minutes into the second half.
Victory for England
Villa became the first English team this week to win its first-leg game in European competitions. None of England’s six clubs in the Champions League knockouts won, with Manchester City, Chelsea, Tottenham, and Liverpool losing. Only Arsenal and Newcastle picked up draws.
