Aston Villa suffered a 3-1 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of our Champions League quarter-final tie on Wednesday night.
Despite coming under heavy early pressure, it was Villa who took the lead as Morgan Rogers broke the deadlock in the 35th minute.
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However, our advantage was soon wiped out as the Ligue 1 champions came storming back to turn the game around, while a stoppage-time third goal felt like a potentially decisive moment in the tie.
Despite the quality of the opposition though, Villa will host PSG in the return leg next week with belief in our ability to turn it around at home, but we’ll undoubtedly need to produce a perfect performance to get the better of one of the top sides in Europe who showcased their class and collective quality in this encounter.
Aston Villa player ratings vs PSG:
Emiliano Martinez, 6.5 – Made a number of important saves as Villa came under intense pressure throughout, and hopefully that has kept us in the tie ahead of turning it around next week. Little he could have done for the goals with the quality and clinical finishing.
Matty Cash, 6 – Picked up a yellow card in the early stages which hampered him, but he defended well against tough direct opposition with PSG posing a real threat in wide areas. Replaced at half-time which had a negative impact on our defensive work after the break.
Ezri Konsa, 6 – Defended resolutely throughout, but he will be disappointed with his mistake that led to Cash getting booked, while he’ll also perhaps be frustrated with the manner of the third goal, albeit there was real quality from PSG to prise us open again late on.
Pau Torres, 6.5 – Made some important interventions and snuffed out danger on many occasions. Couldn’t give us control and time on the ball though with his composure and technical quality, as PSG were relentless with their pressing in our third as we struggled collectively to hold onto possession efficiently enough.
Lucas Digne, 6 – Similarly to Cash, he had a difficult night with PSG posing real problems on the flanks, but he did relatively well in the circumstances.
Boubacar Kamara, 6 – Battled throughout to try and give us some breathing room and time in possession, while he made some standout interventions too as he did his best to protect our backline. Much like the rest of the team though, it was a real struggle in the French capital to impose ourselves on the game.
Youri Tielemans, 7 – Made a decisive run forward and played a perfect pass across the goal for Rogers to give us the lead in a critical passage of play. Couldn’t dictate and control the game as he’s capable of with PSG suffocating us, but he was important in giving us some semblance of presence in the game.
John McGinn, 7 – Aside from his interception that sparked our move which led to our goal, the Villa skipper was aggressive throughout and tried to lead by example with the team under pressure. His energy and tenacity was crucial in midfield, albeit he struggled in possession too.
Morgan Rogers, 7 – Was an important outlet at times even if we couldn’t get up the pitch enough, but he produced a crucial moment in the game as his run and movement allowed him to apply an easy finish to break the deadlock. Hopefully that still proves to be a decisive goal.
Jacob Ramsey, 6.5 – Played a key role defensively as his positional awareness and work-rate off the ball helped us keep our shape and contain PSG as best as possible. The decision to replace him was arguably the wrong one, but he was very limited from an attacking perspective, much like the rest of the team.
Marcus Rashford, 6.5 – Although he couldn’t produce a cutting edge finish to his play, Rashford provided an outlet for Villa with his movement and pace in the attacking third. We needed to be more ruthless in those rare situations though, as that would have changed the game and forced PSG to reconsider their tactical set-up.
Substitutes:
Axel Disasi, 5.5 – Struggled early in the second half after coming on, although there are probably few defenders who wouldn’t have struggled against Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. Settled into the game as the half went on, although both he and Konsa will be frustrated with the third goal.
Marco Asensio, 5.5 – With Villa struggling to maintain possession and move up the pitch, the Spaniard barely touched the ball after being introduced. Had an effort on goal in the latter stages but we’ll need to impose ourselves more efficiently next week for the likes of Asensio to have an influence.
Ollie Watkins, N/A
Ian Maatsen, N/A
Amadou Onana, N/A
