Europa League and Conference League LIVE: Aston Villa vs Lille after Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace reach quarter-finals

Bologna next up for Villa

FT: Roma 3-4 Bologna (agg 4-5)

It is Bologna next for Aston Villa as they edged a thriller in Italy against fellow Serie A side Roma.

After a 1-1 draw in the first leg, Bologna, eighth in Serie A, stormed into a 3-1 lead in Rome, only for Roma to score twice to make it 3-3 and take it to extra time.

But Nicolò Cambiaghi is Bologna's hero with the winning goal in extra time to seal a superb 4-3 away win and a 5-4 triumph on aggregate.

The first leg will be in Italy on 9 April, before the return at Villa Park a week later. Villa played Bologna in the first match of the league phase, winning 1-0 at home thanks to a John McGinn goal.

Villa into Europa League quarter-finals

FT: Aston Villa 2-0 Lille (agg 3-0)

Nick Mashiter

BBC Sport football news reporter at Villa Park

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 Roma or Bologna in the last eight as Villa won 3-0 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.

Forest scrape through after shootout

FT: Midtjylland 1-2 Nottingham Forest (agg 2-2, 0-3 pens)

Chris McKenna

BBC Sport

Nottingham Forest secured a Europa League quarter-final place with a penalty shootout win over Danish side Midtjylland following a dramatic last-16 tie.

Cho Gue-Sung and Aral Simsir both struck the same post for Midtjylland in the shootout before Edward Chilufya slipped and also missed, while Morgan Gibbs-White, Ibrahim Sangare and Neco Williams all scored from the spot to send Forest through.

Vitor Pereira's side now face a quarter-final against either Stuttgart or Porto next month as they put their Premier League struggles behind them to continue their European quest.

Forest midfielder Ryan Yates arrowed a low strike from 20 yards into the corner to put his side ahead in the tie, after Nicolas Dominguez had headed the visitors in front on the night and level on aggregate before half-time.

Then Midtjylland defender Martin Erlic forced extra time by pulling one back for the hosts when he found the net from inside the area.

But Forest would not be denied and got through as they came back from a first-leg deficit.

'Jadon was man of the match' - McGinn

Aston Villa 2-0 Lille (agg 3-0)

Aston Villa

Aston Villa's John McGinn speaking to TNT Sports: "Delighted. It was a slow first half, personally as well trying to get back up to speed. It wasn’t a pretty performance but the main thing is we are in the quarter-final."

On Emi Martinez's pass for his goal and Jadon Sancho's performance: "It was brilliant from Emi but it highlights Jadon’s performance, his best in a Villa shirt. He was man of the match tonight by a mile. The manager was giving me grief before the game to make sure I get in the box and he gave it to me.

"They defended very well in the first half but we did go a bit more direct in the second half, the manager tweaked it and it paid dividends."

On his return from injury: "It is difficult when the team is not doing well and you’re in the physio room. I got over it pretty quickly, I knew it could have been more serious and I just wanted to do my rehab properly. I’ve made mistakes before, trying to cut corners with rehab but I didn’t do that this time."

On goal target for this season: "I never used to set goal targets but the manager sets targets on the forward players. I want to try to target 10 goals every season, I’ve not managed to do that yet but hopefully this season is the year. It is up on us forward players and wide players to take the pressure off Ollie [Watkins]."

On Martinez: "He’s a mad man. I know he’s a family man but he is a big kid inside, a lively character and a top goalkeeper but even at 2-0 he made a great save.

"It was great to get a clean sheet, good performance and send the Villa fans home happy. Hopefully it is the same on Sunday."

Palace beat nine-man Larnaca to reach Conference League quarters

FT: AEK Larnaca 1-2 Crystal Palace (agg 1-2)

Steve Sutcliffe

BBC Sport

Ismaila Sarr scored twice as Crystal Palace edged past nine-man AEK Larnaca in extra time to move into the quarter-finals of the Conference League.

The Senegal forward opened the scoring in the 13th minute to hand Oliver Glasner's side the perfect start in Cyprus following their first-leg goalless draw in south London a week ago.

Spanish defender Enric Saborit headed in a 63rd-minute equaliser after the break before being sent-off for a second yellow card 10 minutes later, as the hosts took the tie to extra time.

And it was left to Sarr to deliver the decisive contribution in the 99th minute as he steered in Daichi Kamada's low cross from close range set up a meeting with Fiorentina in the last eight.

The closing minutes were marred by the dismissal of another Larnaca defender Petros Ioannou for a studs-first rash challenge on Jean-Philippe Mateta, while home supporters threw cups and other objects on to the pitch.

Palace's victory ensured they gained some measure of revenge for their league-phase defeat to the Cypriot side at Selhurst Park in October.

With the international break, they don't play next until the first leg of their quarter-final tie with Fiorentina on 9 April.

We can go very far, says Sancho

Aston Villa 2-0 Lille (agg 3-0)

Aston Villa

Aston Villa winger Jadon Sancho to TNT Sports: "It is a lovely feeling [to go through]. Tonight has been incredible with the fans. We struck to the game plan, that’s what we needed and hopefully we keep that momentum into the Premier League."

On John McGinn being back from injury: "We’ve missed him a lot. He’s a great guy to be around, brings a lot of energy into the changing room. So happy to have him back and happy to assist him today."

On chances of winning Europa League: "We have got to take it game by game, it is a tough competition, Europe is very different. We stuck to the game plan, we worked hard on and off the ball, if we keep [doing] this I’m sure we can go very far in this competition."

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