Skipper John McGinn and Leon Bailey fired Aston Villa into the Europa League quarter-finals with a composed victory over Lille.
The Scotland international set up a match against Bologna in the last eight as Aston Villa won 3-0 on aggregate.
The Italians edged out Serie A rivals Roma in extra time, winning 4-3 on the night and 5-4 on aggregate.
Unai Emery – a four-time Europa League winner – is a step closer to ending Villa’s 30-year trophy drought, which would also earn the club a return to the Champions League.
It was an ultimately forgettable game which suited Villa as Lille rarely threatened, with Ollie Watkins’ goal in France last week giving the hosts their platform for success.
Victory comes amid awful Premier League form, with two wins from 10 games, which has meant Villa’s place in the top five has come under threat but European success can help inspire a recovery.
Tammy Abraham and Amadou Onana forced Berke Ozer into smart stops before McGinn struck in the second half, finishing off a quick break after goalkeeper Emi Martinez launched a perfect pass to Jadon Sancho after saving Nabil Bentaleb’s free-kick.
Sancho then hit the post before Bailey tapped in his first Villa goal for a year with five minutes left as they finished off their Ligue 1 visitors.
