PSG survive huge scare against Aston Villa to reach Champions League semi-finals
Paris Saint-Germain's Nuno Mendes (centre) celebrates scoring their side's second goal of the game. Pic: Nick Potts/PA Wire.
UNAI Emery and Aston Villa’s great European adventure came to a halt with defeat to PSG at Villa Park, but only after coming within a solitary goal of making this one of the greatest nights in their famous history.
Villa made an embarrassing mistake in playing the wrong anthem before their Champions League quarter-final second leg decider; an error compounded on the field, when the hosts quickly conceded twice.
But, as super fan Prince William watched on from the Villa Park stands, he could take pride, along with all his fellow Villains, that their team marked their first Champions League adventure with a run to the quarter-finals and this spirited fightback.
Villa staged an incredible second half recovery, with two goals in as many minutes just before the hour, from John McGinn and Ezri Konsa, leaving those supporters thinking wistfully of what-might-have-beens after an ill-disciplined first half.
The main problem was, after the 3-1 first leg defeat in France last week, the last thing Villa could afford to do was to concede an early goal, which is precisely what they did.
And by the time PSG plundered a second, after 28 minutes, both their full-backs were on the scoresheet and the tie looked over.
The 11th minute finish by right-back Achraf Hakimi undid a bright opening by the Premier League side but spoke to how devastating Luis Enrique’s team is on the counter, after Marcus Rashford lost the ball cheaply just outside the PSG area to Marquinhos.
In the blink of an eye, the ball was with Bradley Barcola as he steamed down the left wing and crossed towards Khvicha Kvaratskhelia at the far post, with Villa keeper Emiliano Martinez hurrying out to intercept.
The Argentinian managed to parry the ball but succeeded only in pushing it out directly to Hakimi, who thumped it back into the Villa goal with a blistering hit from 12 yards.
With the deficit 4-1, it was a strong bet, surely, that Villa’s hopes were extinguished but, for good measure, they conceded an almost identical goal just 16 minutes later, a counter-attack, started this time after Amadou Onana lost the ball in the Paris box.
This goal came down the left, with Hakimi sending Ousmane Dembele scurrying away, with his cross finding left-back Nuno Mendes in space and the Portuguese taking an important touch before curling in a superb left-foot finish, in off the post.
Villa Park was stunned, resigned and, momentarily, burst into applause, almost as tribute to a brilliant Champions League campaign that now looked consigned to the history books.
So, too, looked to be Villa’s proud 17-game unbeaten record at Villa Park, one stretching back to November, and their best in 34 years.
But there was, at least, the belief they could stretch that by another game when Villa pulled one back on 34 minutes, after Rashford found Youri Tielemans in the PSG area and he hit a strong shot which deflected off Willian Pacho and gave Gianluigi Donnarumma no chance in the visitors’ goal.
There had been enough over the first half to give those Villa fans hope that they could exit the competition with heads held high, with a draw or, even, a win on the night.
After just two minutes, Donnarumma had been forced to save after Tielemans flicked on a Rashford corner. Then, as the half progressed, Pau Torres shot at the keeper on the turn and Morgan Rogers’ effort bounced a foot wide.
The second half started with McGinn heading wide and Rashford being well blocked by Donnarumma as he latched onto a move that broke down involving Tielemans, before McGinn gave Villa hope on 55 minutes.
He picked up the ball 10 yards inside his own half and, with PSG back-pedalling furiously and inexplicably refusing to close him down, the Scot struck a fantastic 20-yard, left-foot shot flying past Donnarumma.
Incredibly, at 2-2, and 5-3 to PSG on aggregate, this was a completely different tie and about to become even more so, just two minutes later, when Villa cut the deficit to 5-4.
Rashford received a return ball from his own corner and skilfully weaved into the area, sending two defenders the wrong way, before picking out Konsa who stroked in a perfect finish from 12 yards. If Donnarumma had not made a brilliant save to keep out Tielemans’ header two minutes later, who knows what might have happened.
The same could be said when substitute Marco Asensio, oddly allowed to play by competition rules despite being on loan at Villa from PSG, went through and was blocked by the keeper and, on 71 minutes, when Konsa just missed connecting with a brilliant Rashford free-kick.
PSG might have equalised on the night, with Martinez twice denying Dembele, along with Hakimi and Desire Doue, as the visitors wound down the clock and looked forward to a semi-final against more English opposition, should Arsenal hold on against Real Madrid on Wednesday.
Martinez 5; Cash 5, Konsa 7, Torres 6, Digne 5 (Maatsen 76, 5); Kamara 5, Onana 6 (Ramsey 67, 6); Rogers 6, Tielemans 8 (Barkley 88), McGinn 7 (Asensio 66, 7); Rashford 7 (Watkins 76, 5).
Donnarumma 8; Hakimi 7, Marquinhos 6, Pacho 5, Mendes 7; Neves 7, Vitinha 5, Ruiz 5; Kvaratskhelia 6, Dembele 6, Barcola 7 (Doue 58, 5).
J Martinez (Spain) 7.
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