Lille manager Paulo Fonseca was not complimentary towards his opponents in the Europa Conference League.

After losing on penalties to Aston Villa in the quarter finals, Fonseca defended his players and their performance.

After a tie that finished 3-3 on aggregate over two legs and extra time, Fonseca believed his team merited progression over Villa.

He stated: "I'm really proud of my players, really proud of what we did in both games.

"Everyone agrees with me when I say we deserved to go through. But football is like this. They were better in the shootout and we have to accept it.

"I haven't seen many teams perform like we did against Aston Villa, even in the Premier League.

“We dominated two games and created so many good chances. Today we won the game. I think it would have been difficult to do better."