Aston Villa battled back spiritedly and dramatically against Paris Saint-Germain in their Champions League quarter-final second leg to very nearly complete a comeback for the ages. They left themselves with just too much to do in the end, though, with Luis Enrique’s side squeaking through by a single goal
PSG were ruthless on the break in the first half. They took a 3-1 lead into the second leg at Villa Park, with Nuno Mendes’ late third goal a painful blow for their opponents, and Mendes scored their second at Villa Park after an Achraf Hakimi opener.
Youri Tielemans’ deflected effort gave them hope, though, and a quickfire second-half double from John McGinn and Ezri Konsa put them ahead on the night. Tielemans was inches away from levelling the tie on aggregate just before the hour mark, only for Gianluigi Donnarumma to pull off a stunning save.
Marco Asensio came off the bench and almost stunned his parent club, only for Donnarumma to come to the rescue once again. Konsa then had another chance of his own 20 minutes from time but couldn’t plant a header on target when well-placed to score.
With the game stretched, both teams had chances to score the sixth goal of the night. In the end, though, the French champions prevailed by the finest of margins.
Villa took the game to their opponents from the get-go, with Amadou Onana – one of the players brought into the starting XI – desperately close to heading home a corner inside the first three minutes. It was the visitors who struck first, though as Emi Martinez failed to claim a low cross and Hakimi picked up the pieces to fire home.
Just inside half an hour, Mendes rounded off a rapid break to curl into the bottom corner of Martinez’s net. The hosts didn’t give up, though, and another deflection – this time on a McGinn shot – got the crowd on their feet.
After Konsa took advantage of a dazzling Marcus Rashford run, Donnarumma kept PSG in front and stopped the momentum swinging even further in the hosts’ favour. It wasn’t to be, though, and PSG march into the semis.
Holders Real Madrid and 2020 winners Bayern Munich are both at serious risk of elimination on Wednesday. If both drop out, the most recent champions left in this season’s competition will be 2015 winners Barcelona.
It’s an open field, especially with the 2025 version of Barca underwhelming in their second leg at Dortmund. All four semi-finalists, whoever they may be, will feel as though they’ve shown they have the quality to get the job done.
PSG look as though they’ve peaked at the right time, while their range of attacking options will worry any opponent. Inexperience could yet count against them at the sharp end, though, and their nervy start to the second half showed a weakness which opponents will feel they can exploit.
Emi Martinez tried to play mind games ahead of the first leg, reminding PSG’s French contingent of his role in Argentina’s World Cup triumph over Les Bleus. It came back to bite him, though, with an early slip-up leaving his team with a mountain to climb.
The Villa keeper showed good initiative when it came to figuring out his starting position for Bradley Barcola’s cross. He got it all wrong from there, though, appearing to have a breakdown in communication with Pau Torres before spilling the ball at the feet of Hakimi.
There was a bit of redemption late on as the South American denied Ousmane Dembele and then Desire Doue as both looked to put away what would have been a game-killing goal. However, he may still be left wondering what might have been.
Before kick-off, there was plenty of talk around a previous Champions League meeting between Unai Emery and Luis Enrique. On that occasion, Emery was in charge of PSG while his fellow Spaniard was in the Barcelona dugout.
It was one of the competition’s most famous comebacks, with the French side winning 4-0 at home but collapsing to a 6-1 second leg defeat at Camp Nou. There was an argument that this week’s meeting was about more than just the evening’s result for both men.
A comeback from four goals behind on aggregate would have been an incredibly fitting way for Emery to get his revenge. And he couldn’t have come much closer.
Ollie Watkins’ impact from the bench against Southampton over the weekend left some expecting him to start against PSG. Instead, Marcus Rashford continued to lead the line – with mixed results.
Things didn’t start brilliantly for the on-loan Manchester United star. He was caught in possession deep in the visitors’ half to set up the move which produced the opening goal, but returned for the second half as a changed man.
First was the instinctive effort from close range which forced a sharp save from Donnarumma, and then came the piece de resistance. He made PSG’s defence look foolish down the right flank, before providing a perfect cutback for Konsa to find the net, and left the field 15 minutes from time knowing he’d done as much as he could hope to do.
Prince William and Prince George were in attendance for the first leg in Paris and there was some cautious optimism. “I’m wearing all my lucky clothes,” William told TNT Sports before kick-off at the Parc des Princes, but they didn’t have the desired effect.
For half an hour, it looked as though they were in for more disappointment. PSG looked unstoppable when Mendes put them 5-1 up on aggregate, but the night wasn’t over.
As the cameras cut to the stands during Villa’s second-half charge, William looked to be cheering as loudly as anyone. The hosts’ famous fans wouldn’t end the night enjoying a miracle win, though.
Before the game started, Villa had two ways to qualify for next season’s Champions League. A week from now, they could essentially have none.
Emery’s men sit a point outside the top five with six games to go. However, their next two games are against teams in the places above them – Newcastle over the weekend and Manchester City on Tuesday.
They have shown quality against tougher opponents this term, holding champions-elect Liverpool in the league and downing Bayern Munich in Europe
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