BIRMINGHAM, England (AP) — Aston Villa stands a good chance of advancing to the quarterfinals of a European competition for the third straight year.
The Premier League side needs to protect a 1-0 advantage from Lille in the return leg of the Europa League round of 16 on Thursday at Villa Park.
Coach Unai Emery was cautious. "It's very important this result but it’s not enough,” he said.
Two years ago, Villa and Lille met in the Conference League quarterfinals and Emery’s side advanced on penalties. Last season, Villa was eliminated in the Champions League quarterfinals by eventual winner Paris Saint-Germain.
Another English club, Nottingham Forest, faces a tougher task in Denmark after a 1-0 home defeat to Midtjylland last week.
Boss Vítor Pereira is expected to rest some of his stars ahead of a Premier League game against Tottenham, with both clubs placed just above the relegation zone.
An all-Italian derby between Roma and Bologna is all square at 1-1 ahead of the second leg in Rome.
Lyon, the winner of the league phase, faces Celta Vigo after a 1-1 draw. Porto has to defend a 2-1 advantage against Stuttgart.
Another Bundesliga side, Freiburg, trails host Genk 1-0 and Real Betis is a goal down against visiting Panathinaikos.
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Aston Villa players warm up during a training session in Tamworth, England, Wednesday March 18, 2026, one day ahead of their Europa League soccer match against Lille. (David Davies/PA via AP)
BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union leaders on Thursday lashed out at Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, accusing him of hijacking critical aid for Ukraine and undermining EU decision-making in an effort to win an election at home.
In a rare public tirade against a member of their ranks, leaders insisted that Orbán must respect the 27-nation bloc’s decision in December to fund Ukraine’s armed forces and war-ravaged economy for the next two years. Orbán himself had previously approved what is seen as a critical lifeline for war-ravaged Ukraine.
“He’s using Ukraine as a weapon in his election campaigning, and it’s not good. We had a deal, and I think that he betrayed us,” Finland Prime Minister Petteri Orpo told reporters as the leaders gathered for a summit in Brussels.
Ukraine's economy is in tatters. EU officials believe it must get at least a sizeable part of the 90-billion-euro ($103-billion) loan by the start of May. For that to happen, work must move forward on the EU agreement within two to three weeks.
Orbán – who is seen as Russian President Vladimir Putin’s closest ally in Europe and is a strident nationalist admired by U.S. President Donald Trump – is trailing in opinion polls ahead of elections on April 12. Part of his election campaign has been to portray Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as an existential threat to Hungary.
He has alleged that the Ukrainian leader, along with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, wants to drag Hungary into Russia’s war, now in its fifth year. He has claimed that his reelection is the only guarantee of peace and security.
Fellow EU leaders are now taking Orbán to task, pulling the rug from under his claims that EU institutions in Brussels are against him.
“I have the impression that this is part of his electoral campaign, but in any case we have to respect the decisions that were taken here,” Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever told reporters. "It’s unacceptable to decide with the leaders and then after say ‘but I’m not ready to execute what I decided.’”
Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker said that “what we decide — and what he has agreed to —must be implemented.” He said that if Orban is using the election as a pretext, then “this is not a valid argument given the situation in Ukraine, the plight of the people in Ukraine, and what we ourselves have decided.”
The standoff has highlighted important weaknesses in EU decision-making procedures, which often require unanimous agreement among the 27 member countries. Hungary has a population of almost 10 million, a fraction of the bloc’s 450 million people.
Ukraine and Hungary have been locked in an escalating feud since deliveries of Russian oil to Hungary and Slovakia were halted in January due to damage to the Druzhba pipeline, which crosses Ukrainian territory.
Ukrainian officials blame the damage on Russian drone attacks, but Orbán accuses Zelenskyy of deliberately holding up oil supplies. Hungary has not only vetoed the loan package, it’s also blocking a new round of EU sanctions against Russia.
In an effort to break the deadlock, von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa offered this week to pay for repairs to the pipeline. An EU technical team is in Kyiv awaiting security clearance to inspect the site.
But Orbán vowed to continue to block the loan as long as oil shipments to Hungary are halted.
“What we are talking about is not politics, it is existential for Hungary. To get the oil is existential for the Hungarians,” said Orbán, who has been Hungary’s prime minister since 2010 and is seeking his fifth term. “It’s not a joke, it’s not a political game. Zelenskyy should understand it."
Pietro De Cristofaro in Berlin contributed to this report.
Belgium's Prime Minister Bart De Wever arrives for the EU summit at the European Council building in Brussels, Thursday, March 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)
Austria's Chancellor Christian Stocker speaks with the media as he arrives for the EU summit at the European Council building in Brussels, Thursday, March 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)
Finland's Prime Minister Petteri Orpo speaks with the media as he arrives for the EU summit at the European Council building in Brussels, Thursday, March 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)
Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban speaks with the media as he arrives for the EU summit at the European Council building in Brussels, Thursday, March 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)
Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban arrives for the EU summit at the European Council building in Brussels, Thursday, March 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)
