Aston Villa edge closer to rare European silverware

Aston Villa inched closer to a first European trophy in more than four decades with a 2-1 Conference League win over Lille on Thursday.

Ollie Watkins and John McGinn scored either side of halftime to give the Premier League highflyers a serious option on the semifinals ahead of next week's quarterfinal return leg in France.

Villa, who crushed Ajax 4-0 on aggregate in the last 16, are aiming to claim their third continental title following their victory in the European Cup in 1982 and the Uefa Super Cup the following season.

The gloss was slightly taken off their night's work when Bafode Diakite scored for the visitors with six minutes left on the clock.

Villa manager Unai Emery has a remarkable European record, having won the Europa League as coach three times with Sevilla and once with Villarreal.

The winners of this tie will advance to face either Greek giants Olympiakos or Fenerbahce of Turkey.

This pair met earlier Thursday in Greece with Fenerbahce's tumultuous week continuing as they mounted a stirring second half fightback in a 3-2 loss.

The Turkish outfit appeared to be down and out after an hour's play, with their Greek hosts bossing the quarterfinal first leg by three goals.

Kostas Fortounis and Stevan Jovetic put Olympiakos firmly in control by halftime, with Chiquinho consolidating their advantage on 57 minutes.

But a 68th minute penalty from Dusan Tadic followed by Irfan Can Kahveci's 74th minute contribution gave Fenerbahce a lifeline ahead of next week's return leg in Turkey.

"We started strongly, but Olympiakos are a very good side and they converted their opportunities. After falling 3-0 behind, we managed to regroup, play our game and increase our chances to qualify," commented Tadic.

Olympiakos captain and