Aston Villa were eliminated by Paris Saint-Germain from the quarter-finals of the Champions League despite winning 3-2 in their second-leg clash on Tuesday night having been beaten 5-4 on aggregate.
Villa made the worst possible start, conceding within the opening 15 minutes, and shot-stopper Emiliano Martinez has nobody but himself to blame given he spilled Bradley Barcola’s low cross into the path of goalscorer Achraf Hakimi.
Left-back Nuno Mendes followed in the footsteps of right-back Hakimi by scoring his side’s second at Villa Park before the half-hour mark, finishing off a swift counter-attack after darting into a central area in the box.
Unai Emery’s hosts pulled one back just minutes later thanks to Youri Tielemans’s heavily deflected strike from inside the box, and John McGinn levelled the score on the night with a long-range effort in the opening stages of the second half.
Marcus Rashford’s individual brilliance on the right side of the penalty area saw him dance through and register an assist for Ezri Konsa moments later, but Villa were unable to complete a miraculous comeback.
PSG advance into the semi-finals and will eagerly await the outcome of Real Madrid’s clash against Arsenal on Wednesday night.
Few could have predicted that Emery would take the hosts to the quarter-finals of the Champions League when he first took over in 2022-23, and there is no shame in being eliminated by arguably the best team in the world.
The damage was done in the first half, and Villa will look to refocus on their Premier League campaign and qualify for Europe’s premier competition once again.
As for PSG, their first-half performance was impressive, but boss Luis Enrique will be concerned by their subpar second-half display.
A semi-final matchup against either Real Madrid or Arsenal awaits the French champions, and they might not be so fortunate should they make the same mistakes.
ASTON VILLA VS. PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN HIGHLIGHTS
Achraf Hakimi goal vs. Aston Villa (11th min, Aston Villa 0-1 Paris Saint-Germain)
PSG counter-attack down the left after Mendes plays a pass down the left flank to Barcola, who crosses low into the box before goalkeeper Martinez spills his save into the feet of Hakimi, giving the right-back the opportunity to fire into the back of the net!
That could be the tie over!
Hakimi finds Ousmane Dembele inside Villa’s half after counter-attacking at pace, and the forward plays across the box from the right to left-back Mendes, who made a central run before finishing off the left post.
That is the tie over!
Tielemans brings the ball forward from just over the halfway line and passes to Rashford on the edge of the box, and he finds McGinn before the Scottish midfielder plays back to Tielemans in space on the left of the penalty area, and his shot deflects off Pacho into the net.
Maybe the tie still has life!
McGinn picks up the ball in his own half and carries it all the way to the edge of PSG’s box before unleashing a strike on his left foot, and his effort deflects off of Pacho past Gianluigi Donnarumma.
A comeback could be on!
Rashford glides past one player and bursts past another into the right side of the penalty area and cuts a cross towards defender Konsa, who sweeps home from close range.
One more goal to take it to extra time!
Rashford might not have scored on the night, but his ingenuity for Konsa’s goal helped give Aston Villa hope of a miraculous comeback.
The forward was also heavily involved in helping give Tielemans the space he needed to score his side’s first on the night, while also creating four chances, the most of any player on the pitch.
WHAT NEXT?
Villa will hope to shrug off the disappointment of their exit by beating Newcastle United on Saturday in the Premier League, with Emery’s side then playing Manchester City on April 22.
As for PSG, they can move within four points of winning the Ligue 1 title should they defeat Le Havre on April 19, and they could take another three points against Nantes three days later.
