Europa League knockout round of 16 first leg highlights and round-up: Aston Villa, Porto, Midtjylland establish narrow leads

An Ollie Watkins finish has given Aston Villa a lead to defend at home in the UEFA Europa League round of 16, while Porto and Midtjylland also have the upper hand after securing impressive away wins.

We round up the action from the first legs of the round of 16.

Lille 0-1 Aston Villa

A superb looping header from Ollie Watkins gave Villa a first win in France in seven attempts and a narrow advantage to take back to Birmingham. Morgan Rogers had several attempts off target, while Romain Perraud tested Emiliano Martínez in a goalless first half. The deadlock was broken on the hour when Emiliano Buendía flicked on a long ball and Watkins caught out Berke Özer in the home goal, leaving Les Dogues with work to do at Villa Park next Thursday.

Stuttgart 1-2 Porto

Two-time winners Porto claimed a narrow advantage courtesy of a pair of goals in the space of seven first-half minutes. The Dragões' William Gomes curled against the woodwork midway through the opening period before Terem Moffi's powerful effort and Rodrigo Mora's improvised finish threatened to put the tie beyond the hosts. However, Die Roten cranked up the pressure and cut the deficit just ahead of the interval via Deniz Undav's neat half-volley.

Nottingham Forest 0-1 Midtjylland

Having won 3-2 at the City Ground in the league phase, Midtjylland stunned Forest for a second time, substitute Guesung Cho's looping header in the 80th minute securing a first-leg lead. The Danish side stood firm despite driving rain and wave upon wave of Forest attacks. Long-range efforts from Elliot Anderson and Ola Aina were well saved by Elias Rafn Ólafsson, who marshalled a strong defensive display and helped Midtjylland record an eighth clean sheet in their last 12 European matches.

Bologna 1-1 Roma

Denied by a brilliant Mile Svilar save before the break, Federico Bernardeschi put Bologna ahead in the 50th minute. The Roma goalkeeper intervened again as Tommaso Pobega bore down on his goal, and the visitors then equalised through substitute Lorenzo Pellegrini. Donyell Malen might have won it for Gian Piero Gasperini's men but Jhon Lucani nudged his shot on to the post and Martin Vitík then rattled the crossbar with a header at the other end.

Celta 1-1 Lyon

Endrick's 87th-minute effort from range squirmed under Celta goalkeeper Ionuț Radu to give the French side a draw. Lyon dominated possession but went behind after 25 minutes when Javi Rueda finished from Williot Swedberg's sweeping cross. Endrick went close either side of half-time, Steeve Kango hit the post from distance and Radu saved well from Roman Yaremchuk. Celta's Borja Iglesias was dismissed with 35 minutes to go, and his side could not quite hold on for the win.

Panathinaikos 1-0 Real Betis

Panathinaikos will take a slender lead to Seville after Vicente Taborda's late penalty. Following a first half of few opportunities, the hosts' task was made more difficult when Anass Zaroury received two yellow cards in quick succession. Betis dominated possession but could not make the breakthrough, and after Diego Llorente was also sent off for fouling Karol Świderski in the box, Taborda slammed his spot kick down the middle two minutes from time to a secure a narrow win.

Genk 1-0 Freiburg

The Belgian side will head to Germany next week with a narrow lead to defend after Zakaria El Ouahdi hit the only goal of the first leg. In a game where both teams looked to get forward at pace, it took neat interplay between El Ouahdi and captain Bryan Heynen to break the deadlock, the Morocco international's powerful strike on the angle doing the damage. Freiburg denied Genk further chances in the second half but could not avoid their second loss of this campaign.

Ferencváros 2-0 Braga

Lenny Joseph played a starring role as Ferencváros took control of their tie. The French forward was the provider for his side's opener on 32 minutes as he fed Gabi Kanichowsky, who neatly steered past Lukáš Horníček for his third goal in this season's Europa League. Joseph then doubled the Hungarian champions' lead midway through the second half, sweeping in from Čebrails Makreckis' cutback after excellent link-up play down the right.