Unai Emery calls for Aston Villa to "respect" Lille test in Europa Conference League
The Premier League outfit have spent the entirety of the 2023-24 competition as the favourites to lift the trophy at the end of the season.
However, Villa had to overcome a losing start in the group stage against Legia Warsaw to top Group E, before being drawn against Ajax in the last 16.
Villa came through that challenge, responding to a goalless draw in Amsterdam with a 4-0 victory in the West Midlands, but their reward for defeating the Dutch giants was a last-eight showdown with Lille.
Of all the teams remaining in the tournament, there is an argument that Lille are on a par with Villa, sitting in fourth position in Ligue 1 with just 25 goals conceded in 28 games.
Furthermore, Paulo Fonseca's side have not lost any of their 10 Europa Conference League fixtures this season, winning six and drawing four.
What has Emery had to say?Speaking to reporters at a press conference on Wednesday, Emery called on his players to respect the competition, as well as refusing to entertain any questions about the Premier League tussle with Arsenal that takes place three days later.
The Spaniard said: «Firstly, you must always respect the competition. It's good for us to have this experience in the competition, sometimes we had difficult moments.
»Losing against Legia and then winning against Zrinjski in the last minute. We had some good games against Ajax. We drew there and then played with personality here.
«Lille are the same [as us]. They have experiences in Europe. I know the president [of Lille] and he is very competitive, he's an experienced man.
»They are focused on this
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