Aston Villa 3-2 PSG (4-5 agg): Hosts’ memorable Champions League journey comes to an end despite superb comeback victory at Villa Park on rollercoaster night
The last time Aston Villa played a European Cup quarter-final tie at Villa Park, 42 years ago, Paolo Rossi scored for Juventus in front of the Holte End in the first minute of the first leg. All the air went out of the tie. For Villa, it was gone in 60 seconds. They lost at home and they lost away and their defence of the trophy they had won the year before was over.
Villa went behind again early on Tuesday night, too. They were ripped apart by a quick break by PSG and undone by a mistake by their goalkeeper, Emiliano Martinez, who presented Achraf Hakimi with the opener in the 11th minute.
But this time, Villa did not bow out quietly, not even when they went two goals down later in the half.
This time, they gave this glorious old ground one of its best nights with a comeback of courage and daring that will live long in the memory even if it was not quite enough for victory.
If you are going to go out of the Champions League in the last eight to the best team in the competition, then go out like this.
Go out fighting, go out roaring back from 2-0 down on the night to lead 3-2 and leave the future king and his son in the stands open-mouthed at the ferocity of the passion this club can generate.
Aston Villa were knocked out of the Champions League despite a brilliant victory against PSG
PSG lost 3-2 on the night, but reached the semi-finals courtesy of a 5-4 aggregate victory
Prince William and Prince George were in attendance on a dramatic evening at Villa Park
Villa could not quite claw back the 3-1 deficit from the first leg in the Parc des Princes last week but the truth is that they missed two second half chances against the best team in the competition that would have left the tie level at 5-5.
They deserved that much. They deserved extra time but two brilliant saves from Gianluigi Donnarumma denied them and left PSG to progress to a semi-final against either Real Madrid or Arsenal.
Reminders of what Villa are aspiring to, reminders of the glorious history they are trying to emulate, are everywhere at Villa Park, from the giant likeness of the European Cup stencilled on to a brick wall outside the Holte End to the ribbon of a banner high in the Doug Ellis Stand.
The words are from a piece of commentary from their 1982 European Cup Final win: ‘Shaw, Williams, prepared to adventure down the left, there’s a good ball played in for Tony Morley…oh, it must be…and it is. Peter Withe.’
It sends a shiver down the spine to read it. It was obvious from long before the game it was going to be some atmosphere inside the old ground.
Even if it was not the first time it has happened, there was some surprise among the supporters that Emery had chosen Marcus Rashford ahead of Ollie Watkins in the starting line-up again.
Watkins won a penalty and scored the opening goal against Southampton at the weekend but he has been dealing with a knee issue and has started just one of Villa’s last five matches.
Rashford also has a happy history of knocking PSG out of the Champions League: he did it six years ago with a last-gasp penalty for Manchester United in the round of 16.
Prince William went through the full range of emotions across the topsy-turvy 90 minutes
The atmosphere inside Villa Park was electric on the biggest night in the club’s recent history
Achraf Hakimi had put PSG 1-0 up after a fast break to give the French side full control of the tie
Left back Nuno Mendes made it 2-0 on the night shortly after to give PSG a 5-1 aggregate lead
After a rousing, raucous preamble that whipped the crowd into a frenzy of noise, the atmosphere turned briefly to puzzlement when the Europa League anthem, rather than the Champions League theme, rang out as the players lined-up before kick-off.
It did not seem like a particularly good omen for the home side but Villa tore into PSG at the start.
They nearly scored within the first two minutes: Youri Tielemans flicked on a corner at the near post and, as Rashford tried to nod it in, it was turned away by Joao Neves.
But then PSG dealt Villa a grievous blow with their first proper attack in the 11th minute.
Nuno Mendes set Bradley Barcola free down the left and Barcola slid a low cross towards Ousmane Dembele, who was screaming for the ball in the middle.
It was a brilliant ball. Emiliano Martinez dived to cut it out but he and Pau Torres got in each other’s way and Martinez could only push the ball out to Achraf Hakimi. Hakimi’s shot flicked off the outstretched leg of Martinez and deflected high into the net.
Villa tried to hit back. Torres had a shot beaten away by Gianluigi Donnarumma and Morgan Rogers finished a clever run by curling a left-foot shot just wide but they were committing so many men forward, they were asking to be picked off. A team as good as PSG does not need a second invitation.
So when a Villa attack broke down in the 27th minute, PSG burst forward at lightning speed and worked the ball beautifully to Dembele on the edge of the box.
But Youri Tielemans pulled a goal back to inspire hopes of a memorable comeback
John McGinn’s deflected effort then looped in over Gianluigi Donnarumma to spark bedlam
McGinn led from the front and his equaliser on the night brought the aggregate score to 5-3
Things got even better when Ezri Konsa scored following brilliant work from Marcus Rashford
There was real belief that Villa could produce something special after they came out firing
Dembele shifted it square to Nuno Mendes and when his first touch allowed the ball to sit up for him, he stroked it past Martinez off the inside of the post.
It felt as though that strike had put the tie out of reach but Villa did not surrender. Seven minutes later, John McGinn and Tielemans combined well and when the Villa skipper played Tielemans clear, his shot cannoned off Willian Pacho and past Donnarumma.
Donnarumma got down fast to smother a poked effort from Rashford early in the second half and the crowd sensed there was still life in the tie.
It was there most of all in McGinn, who was raging against the dying of hope and refusing to let it expire.
He burst forward nine minutes after the interval and ran at the retreating PSG defence. When he got to the edge of the area, he let fly with his left foot and it sailed over the motionless Donnarumma and into the net.
The old stadium lost itself in ecstasy but Villa had more to give. This time, it was the brilliance of Rashford that fired them.
First, the England forward cut in from the left and unleashed a bullet of a right foot shot that looked every inch a goal.
But Rashford was denied by a quite magnificent one-handed flying save from Donnarumma. Donnarumma celebrated as if he had just won the game but he celebrated too soon. Rashford flew back into the action.
PSG were under the pump and at risk of another major collapse in the Champions League
Unai Emery was orchestrating his side in typically animated fashion from the technical area
After pulling the aggregate score back to 4-5, Villa were guilty of squandering several chances
Marco Asensio, on loan from PSG, saw his effort saved by Donnarumma when clean through
Donnarumma made a number of huge stops with his team under heavy pressure late on
When PSG only half-cleared a corner, Rashford picked it up on the Villa right and slalomed past a couple of challenges before pulling the ball back into the path of Ezri Konsa.
Konsa made no mistake. He steered it unerringly into the bottom corner. Suddenly, Villa only needed one more goal for parity.
Marco Asensio, who is on loan from PSG, should have scored that goal seconds after he came on for McGinn.
He found himself clean through on Donnarumma but when he tried to slot his shot past him, Donnarunna stuck out his left leg and deflected it away.
Two minutes later, Villa should have scored again. Rashford struck a superb free-kick across the face of the box and Konsa ran on to it, unmarked.
He flung himself at it but missed it completely. On the touchline, Emery flung himself to the turf in despair.
Ian Maatsen had one last chance in the dying seconds but his volley was blocked on the line by Pacho. Emery hurled himself to the ground again. Then the final whistle blew and he stormed down the tunnel, kicking a drinks bottle with feeling as he went, his despair complete.
