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Aston Villa boss Unai Emery thought Emiliano Martinez had been sent off during their penalty shootout victory over Lille.

Martinez was shown a second yellow card during the Europa Conference League quarter-final second leg shootout for an apparent to gesture to home fans.

He was allowed to carry on as his initial booking was not carried over into the shootout but Emery acknowledged he was not entirely au fait with the protocol.

Asked whether he and his players thought Martinez had been dismissed in the shootout, Emery said: "Yes. He is very important for us.

"On the pitch he has his personality and he played fantastic. He saved two penalty shots so of course I am very proud of him."

Read the full story here...

Probably just another run-of-the-mill night in the world of Emiliano Martinez...

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

It isn't all doom and gloom.

Aston Villa's Emiliano Martinez was the hero in a chaotic penalty shootout against Lille as the goalkeeper made the save that sent his side through to their first major European semi-final since 1982.

In an extraordinary shootout after the tie ended 3-3 on aggregate after extra time, Villa keeper Martinez - who had been booked earlier for time-wasting - was shown another yellow card for appearing to gesture to home fans.

Martinez, who had already kept out Nabil Bentaleb's penalty, was allowed to carry on as his initial booking was not carried over into the shootout.

The Argentina World Cup winner then went on to keep out Benjamin Andre's attempt as Villa won 4-3 on penalties to advance to the last four.

Martinez then ran virtually the whole length of the pitch to celebrate in front of Villa's jubilant 2,600 travelling fans.

Read the full match report here...

Rob in Hastings

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West Ham boss David Moyes was involved in a frosty exchange with a reporter as he was asked about his future at the club following their Europa League exit.

Moyes' contract is set to expire at the end of the season and there has been no clarity on whether he will sign an extension.

West Ham went out of the competition to Bayer Leverkusen 3-1 on aggregate after drawing the second leg of their quarter-final 1-1 at London Stadium.

After the match, Moyes and the media officer who accompanied him took exception to a question asked at a news conference.

Read here to see how the exchange unfolded...

Lilly in London

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West Ham were knocked out of the Europa League as Jeremie Frimpong's late leveller denied them the consolation of becoming the first team to beat new German champions Bayer Leverkusen this season.

Michail Antonio's 13th-minute header at London Stadium gave David Moyes' side the perfect start in their attempts to overturn a two-goal deficit from the first leg.

But despite dominating the opening period they were unable to prize open the Leverkusen defence a second time.

Jarrod Bowen came closest when his far-post effort was saved by Matej Kovar but Xabi Alonso's side improved significantly after the break.

Frimpong blazed over after running clear of the defence, but made amends in the 89th minute with a shot that took a significant deflection off Aaron Cresswell and flew past Lukasz Fabianski.

Read the full match report here...

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Two weeks is a long time in football.

Heading into the weekend before their Premier League trip to Manchester United, Liverpool were two points clear at the top.

A Europa League quarter-final against Atalanta and a potential semi-final against Marseille or Benfica seemed kind on paper.

It meant a treble was on for Liverpool to mark Jurgen Klopp's last season on Merseyside.

Fast forward 12 days, they are third in the Premier League, two points behind leaders Manchester City, after a draw at Old Trafford and a defeat by Crystal Palace, and out of Europe after a 3-1 aggregate defeat by Italian side Atalanta.

Liverpool have secured the Carabao Cup this season, but now can only add a second Premier League title for Klopp before the German waves goodbye on 19 May.

"It is weighing on them - I see a team that is playing under stress," said former Liverpool midfielder Don Hutchison on TNT Sports.

"They are a team under pressure - they are trying to finish off the season because of Jurgen Klopp's farewell."

Read the full article here...

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Liverpool's hopes of ending Jurgen Klopp's reign with a European trophy are over after they failed to overturn a first-leg deficit against Atalanta.

The Reds travelled to Italy on the back of a 3-0 defeat at Anfield last Thursday and, despite controlling the game for the large periods, could not find the required goals and lost 3-1 on aggregate.

Mohamed Salah's seventh-minute penalty, after a Trent Alexander-Arnold cross was handled, gave them hope.

As the first half drew to a close, the Egypt forward lofted well wide when put through one-on-one, but Klopp's side struggled to create meaningful openings in the second period.

It marks the end of a difficult 12 days for the Reds, who drew at Manchester United and lost at home to Crystal Palace to surrender their lead at the top of the Premier League.

Read the full match report here...

And then there was one.

The week began with five English teams left in European competition, but Liverpool and West Ham followed Manchester City and Arsenal in suffering quarter-final heartbreak.

Unai Emery's Aston Villa are now the only team left standing after they came through a penalty shootout victory over French side Lille in the Europa Conference League.

We'll take some time to reflect on last night's action and analyse why Premier League clubs have failed to make the latter stages of European competition this season.

This weekend is the semi-finals of the FA Cup and we'll look forward, and hear from some of the main protagonists, from City v Chelsea and Coventry v Manchester United including Pep Guardiola, Mauricio Pochettino and Erik ten Hag.

There's seven Premier League fixtures this weekend as well so we will hear from a raft of managers including Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta and Everton manager Sean Dyche.

A busy Friday, as always, ahead. We look forward to your company today.