Aston Villa produced a stunning comeback but it wasn’t enough to avoid a 5-4 aggregate defeat to PSG in our Champions League quarter-final tie.
The visitors took a 2-0 lead in the first half to further extend their advantage and seemingly end the contest, but Villa weren’t going to go down without a fight and produced a memorable comeback to win 3-2 on the night.
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Goals from Youri Tielemans, John McGinn and Ezri Konsa put us ahead and in need of one more goal to force the tie into extra-time, but our chances came and went as we couldn’t show a ruthless cutting edge to entirely turn it around.
In turn, we exit the competition in disappointing fashion, but we can certainly be proud of not only the character and effort shown in the second half to keep ourselves in the tie, but our Champions League run as a whole, and it’s hoped that we can be back here next season.
Aston Villa player ratings vs PSG:
Emiliano Martinez, 6 – Will be disappointed with the first goal as he had to either hold on to the cross or parry it to safety, but it fell perfectly for Hakimi. Made some good saves throughout after that to keep us in the tie.
Matty Cash, 7 – Once again had his hands full with the attacking quality that PSG boast in wide areas. Looked vulnerable at times, but gave it his all and defended resolutely for the most part.
Ezri Konsa, 8 – Defended with composure and was strong in that phase, while he also posed a huge threat at the other end. Great finish for his goal, but he’ll be devastated he couldn’t convert two other big opportunities that he had either side of half-time.
Pau Torres, 7.5 – Was always going to struggle with the pace of PSG’s attacking players, with our entire backline suffering with that too. However, showed great positional awareness to win possession back and was composed with the ball to help us get a sense of control for periods and play out from the back.
Lucas Digne, 7 – Started really strongly and gave us solidity on the left side. Perhaps a little limited from an attacking perspective, but defended well in difficult circumstances.
Amadou Onana, 7 – Important inclusion in the Villa XI, gave us additional physical presence and solidity in the midfield battle. Much like the rest of the team, struggled with the speed of the counter-attacks, but helped us recover as we fought back.
Boubacar Kamara, 7.5 – Played a key role in both phases as he won possession back and helped us play our way up the pitch and cause problems. Similarly to Onana though, the duo may well feel as though they had to do better dealing with PSG on the counter as our backline was too exposed.
John McGinn, 8.5 – What a shift from the Villa skipper. Aggressive and tireless off the ball as he set the tone and example for the rest of the team to follow, and albeit his effort took a deflection, scored a wonderful goal to really get us back into the tie. Excellent.
Youri Tielemans, 8 – Deployed in a more advanced role and was key again with his ability to link things together and add composure and calmness to our play. His strike was also helped in via a big deflection, but it was a critical moment in the game to lift us after a difficult start and he went close to adding another but was denied by a top save.
Morgan Rogers, 7.5 – Some of his trickery and dribbling with the ball was a joy to watch as he got out of tight spaces and sparked us in attack, but he was just missing that final piece when in dangerous positions to produce magic in front of goal.
Marcus Rashford, 8 – Showed great movement off the ball to give us an outlet and an ability to create problems on the counter. Was unable to convert a couple of big chances but he was a threat in and around the box in a positive display after getting the nod to lead the line once again.
Substitutes:
Marco Asensio, 6 – Had a big chance to get us level on aggregate but was denied in a decisive moment by an inspired Donnarumma.
Jacob Ramsey, 6 – Added fresh legs and impetus in the latter stages with his ability to run at players and provide movement off the ball in attacking areas.
Ollie Watkins, 6 – Disappointing not to see him start this game, and although he worked hard and tried to stretch the PSG defence after coming on, he couldn’t make a telling difference.
Ian Maatsen, 6.5 – Caught out defensively as Villa pushed forward in search of a critical fourth goal, but he almost scored it himself with a fine strike that was practically cleared off the line in the final moments.
Ross Barkley, N/A
