Credit: Imago

Daniel Davis

Thu 19 March 2026 22:10, UK

Tammy Abraham was unable to prove why he should be given the nod over Ollie Watkins during Aston Villa‘s Europa League victory against Lille on Thursday night.

Villa sealed their spot in the quarter-finals after winning the second leg 2-0 at Villa Park, courtesy of goals from John McGinn and Leon Bailey.

Abraham was given a start ahead of Watkins in six changes made by Unai Emery, who opted to shuffle his pack after the 3-1 defeat by Manchester United on Sunday.

The frontman was supported by Morgan Rogers and Jadon Sancho but found himself hooked shortly after the hosts made the breakthrough.

Villa will now turn their attention to the Champions League qualification race, with West Ham next up on Sunday. Abraham, however, can no longer expect to start.

How did Tammy Abraham play vs Lille?

It was a mixed night at the office for the £18million striker, who had started just two matches since returning to B6 before being handed his big opportunity against Lille.

While Abraham did not fluff his lines – in fact, he was barely handed an opportunity to do so – he did nothing to prove to Emery why he should become Villa’s new first-choice striker.

According to Sofascore, he did not muster up a single shot during his 56-minute runout. Damningly, he also recorded just seven accurate passes from his 14 attempts (50 per cent).

In total, Abraham took 18 touches and lost possession on nine occasions, while his three carries failed to provide the incisiveness Emery would have been looking for.

Encapsulating his bizarre match, the ace registered more tackles (two) than attacking contributions. While this was admirable, Villa were reliant on him to pen Lille back.

That didn’t quite happen in a dismal first half, so Emery resorted to Watkins, who went on to record an unselfish assist after squaring for Bailey to tap home.

Dion Dublin ripped into Villa’s “lazy” performance in the opening 45 minutes, and Abraham was just as guilty as his team-mates for the plodding pace and lack of incision.

Unai Emery has striker headache

Abraham’s rather placid display leaves the Villa boss with a major quandary.

Watkins was just as blunt at Old Trafford last time out, while his goal in the first leg victory in Lille was his first for the club since he netted against Newcastle at the end of January.

• Watkins scores a goal every 305 minutes this season.
• In comparison, Abraham scores a goal every 163 minutes.

Both frontmen are snatching at their chances and look to have lost their cutting edge at the worst possible time, with Villa flailing in their bid to finish in the Premier League top five.

While Abraham could still come good and put up a better fight, he looks desperately short of sharpness. The only fix, however, is to give him a run of games when he can’t be trusted.

How Emery handles the situation may well decide the outcome of Villa’s campaign.