Ollie Watkins' second-half header ensured Aston Villa eked out a narrow victory at Lille in the first leg of their Europa League last-16 tie.

The result ends a winless sequence of four matches for Villa in all competitions and means Unai Emery's side will be favourites to advance to the quarter-finals when the sides meet again in the West Midlands next Thursday.

There had been very little goalmouth action until Watkins' clever intervention with Villa's first effort on target.

The England forward raced on to Emiliano Buendia's flick-on and improvised superbly to loop a header over home goalkeeper Berke Ozer.

While neither side was able to impose themselves in an uninspiring opening 45 minutes, Watkins' header just after the hour mark did at least spark the contest into life.

Amadou Onana curled a shot against the woodwork, Watkins failed to convert when one-on-one against Ozer and Buendia volleyed wide from 12 yards.

Lille's best opportunity arrived before the break when veteran striker Olivier Giroud glanced a header across the face of goal.

The winners of the tie will face Bologna or Roma in the last eight of the competition.

Villa defeated Lille on the way to the Conference League semi-finals in 2024 and reached the Champions League quarter-finals last term.

And on the evidence of this season, continental glory may well be a realistic prospect for the former European champions.

Not only was this Villa's first win in France at the seventh attempt, but it was also a professional display from a team without key personnel, like the injured Matty Cash and Youri Tielemans.

The return of captain John McGinn - fit enough to make the bench after being sidelined with a knee problem since 18 January - was also a welcome sight with the business end of the season approaching.

In recent weeks manager Unai Emery has outlined the need to restore structure to his team after domestic defeats by Newcastle, Wolves and Chelsea.

With Lamare Bogarde ably deputising for Cash and with Pau Torres and Ezri Konsa giving little away defensively, that was evident as they limited Lille to very few promising positions.

And once Watkins scored to inject further belief, the visitors very much resembled the team that won seven of their eight league-phase fixtures and climbed as high as third in the Premier League.

Villa travel to Manchester United in the Premier League on Sunday, 15 March (14:00 GMT) before hosting Lille in the second leg on Thursday, 19 March (20:00).

Lille visit Rennes in Ligue 1 on Sunday, 15 March (19:45) before their trip to Villa Park.