Aston Villa’s epic Champions League comeback against PSG falls agonisingly short

Every player at this level has a huge level to play and to try and be a protagonist. We were a protagonist as well with our skills. We were focused on our game plan. I was thinking only to play out game plan and be consistent. We were attacking and those transitions, they were clinical. We knew it. We tried to avoid transition [in the first leg] by defending lower and today we took the new game plan and were pushing more.

It is now most important to get Europe again. The most important competition is the Champions League. The challenge we have for the last six matches is to try and get Europe and the Champions League.

I think so, simple as that. We cannot forget, this is the Champions League and the other team has a lot of quality. Aston Villa played with a lot of intensity. The whole two matches, we deserved to win.

The second year in a row in the semi-finals and we want to go into the next phase.

I think have the best squad in the world, not only the best goalkeeper. You have a lot of quality players at a club like PSG. That’s football and that’s competition.

I’ve never played against Real Madrid or Barcelona, but in my career they’re the best team I have faced. I’m getting old and I certainly wouldn’t like to play against them every week.

I am very proud of everything we did this year in the Champions League. To get this level is the next step forward, I want to build with Aston Villa.

We compete well in the first leg, but not another. Today we compete better even, but not quite enough.

The last step forward and this is my only circumstance I want to try to work hard for our next process. But today was fantastic how we enjoy with our supporters.

In the last 25 minutes we had the opportunities to draw.

We knew it was going to be a difficult game. We had belief, we kept our intensity and we believed until the end we were going to go through.

It is such a difficult competition but we are getting better and better and we are proving we are good team. There is belief that we can go all the way and win it this year.

Fiona Tomas spoke to Aljoe for Telegraph Sport about her bilingual interviews with overseas players, which have become a fixture of Amazon’s Champions League coverage. You can read the interview in full here.

Very proud of the boys and what we did tonight. The two goals at the start killed us but we showed great belief and character to get back into it. We won the second leg but it wasn’t enough.

At half-time we felt we had nothing to lose. We wanted to go out there and prove a point. We had chances, I think I scored the hardest one. I don’t think we could have done any more. I missed the ball [for a header], it happens.

He [Gianluigi Donnarumma] made some excellent saves. We showed tonight we can compete at the highest level and we want to do it again next season.

Ezri Konsa failing to make contact with this header is the one Villa fans will be seeing in their sleep.

Villa’s home fans sing at the final whistle, defiant and justifiably proud of that performance. They came so close to one of the great Champions League comeback in the second half, but were part of a great Champions League tie against one of the competition favourites. Did Villa open up too soon in the first half? When the chances came in the second half, they came in bunches, and they might rue one or two of the opportunities Donnarumma kept out.

PSG showed their class in flashes, but they also rocked defensively tonight in a way they did not against Liverpool.

Maatsen thought he was going to be the hero! Cash stood up a cross towards the edge of the box towards Maatsen as Villa launched one final attack, and the left-back’s volley was arrowed towards the bottom corner only to be blocked by the shins of Pacho.

Villa go direct and they launch a throw into the box, but PSG head clear and Dembele then wins a foul against Konsa. Just 90 second remaining.

There will be just three minutes of stoppage time. Given the changes and three second-half goals, that feels a little stingy. Although, mercifully, there have been no long VAR checks.

PSG are getting in consistently with the clip over Maatsen, but Martinez once again makes another smothering save to deny Doue. PSG work a short corner, which results in a Kvaratskhelia shot deflecting behind. PSG are running the clock down now, which is a compliment to Villa. Not that it will be much consolation.

Matt Cash had a rough night last week in Paris, but he has fared far better against Kvaratskhelia tonight. Some more sound defending helps to snuff out the Georgian in the box. 

Ross Barkley is on for Tielemans as Emery makes his final change.

Donnarumma is now time wasting over goal kicks, and the Villa Park crowd are whistling. They have taken a circuitous route, but Villa fans would have signed up for this scenario before kick off: within a goal with five minutes to play.

Rogers played the wrong pass when Villa had runners streaming forward, and PSG break off that mistake. Hakimi’s stamina is astounding, he looks fresher than Maatsen who has just come on. After another burst forward from the PSG right-back, Martinez did well to save.

Asensio almost picks out Watkins with a clever through ball but Pacho intercepts. The game swings to the other end, and Tielemans can rightfully feel aggrieved that he is penalised for a foul on Doue. It looked like the Villa man won the ball cleanly and that it clearly deflected away before any trip.

What a match this is. So many top level performances all over the pitch.

PSG may eventually win the Champions League this season but have been clearly unsettled by the ferocity of Villa’s response.

If it wasn’t for the brilliance of PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, Villa could even be ahead on aggregate.

There is still just over ten minutes left.

PSG are starting to get chances on the break now, which is an occupational hazard for Villa in this situation. Dembele’s shot from 25 yards was skewed over badly though when he had Doue running in support.

Asensio’s movement causing problems for his parent club again, but Rogers left-footed shot from distance is well wide.

Ian Maatsen for Digne are Watkins for Rashford are the two Villa changes. Rashford has been excellent since the break, but you can understand Emery wanting to get Watkins on. Dembele with another shift and shoot scenario in the box, but Martinez saves with his feet at the near post.

Joao Neves is down looking a little shaken... because he has just run straight into the back of the referee. Play stops, and the referee gives the ball back to Villa. Ollie Watkins is getting stripped and ready. Quite possibly the ideal player to be bringing off the bench in this scenario.

Donnarumma with another crucial save! Asensio was clean through but the goalkeeper was out quickly to narrow the angle. That could have been the leveller. Whatever happens here, PSG’s potential future opponents will be noting this soft centre defensively.

Then Villa win a wide free-kick, which Rashford whips across the six-yard box without Villa contact! Should Konsa have got there? It looked like he was there but simply missed the ball.

It almost feels like both teams are taking on oxygen before what could be a pulsating last 20 minutes. Dembele makes it stick up top for PSG and they restore some order with another sequence of passing, but the flag goes up for offside against Doue.

Dembele drives on the outside of Torres but Martinez stands firm at his near post to save.

Emery making a double sub now: McGinn, possibly because of his yellow card, is off as well as Onana. Asensio and Jacob Ramsey are coming on. That gives Villa’s midfield a more offensive feel.

Desire Doue is on now for PSG, in place of Barcola and he produces a wonderful spin in midfield. Luis Enrique not happy that the run of Dembele is not found. PSG have at least settled some possession in the Villa half after that awful four minutes or so when they could have conceded four goals.

Donnarumma with ANOTHER acrobatic save, this time to pluck a Tielemans header off the line. Villa are creating chances at will right now, PSG looking more fragile than they have for at least six months. Is Emery about to inflict another collapse on his former club?

The atmosphere at Villa Park is as good as any European night. The home crowd have gone from pensive to full belief that a great shock is on the cards. Donnarumma has been excellent. Villa would have been ahead in the tie without his saves.

Whatever happens tonight, John McGinn has been arguably Villa’s best player over the two legs.

‘Meatball’ has been a crucial figure in the club’s rise from the Championship and continues to take his game to another level.

McGinn has gone toe to toe with some of Europe’s best players in this tie and only enhanced his reputation.

Another reminder that he cost just £2.5m from Hibernian in August 2018.

This is a quite brilliant assist from Rashford, who danced past Ruiz and Vitinha into the PSG box and put the ball on a plate for Konsa to fire home and reduce the deficit to one. That might be doing the defender a disservice because he still had to hit the target and keep the ball down.

What is happening at Villa Park?! Are the demons back for PSG?

Stunning save from Donnarumma to deny Rashford, tipping the ball around the post after another powerful strike from 25 yards.

We are back to where we started: Villa just the two goals behind on aggregate. Fair means and foul, McGinn has been involved in everything tonight. PSG backed off the Villa midfielder as he strode towards the penalty area, and he fired a left-footed shot over Donnarumma into the top corner. The PSG goalkeeper could only wave it in.

Chance for Villa and Rashford after Tielemans barrelled into the area and Hakimi and Marquinhos got in each other’s way. Rashford hesitated slightly and Donnarumma was on the scene to smother. Dembele then scored with an impudent dink over Martinez but the flag belatedly went up for offside. Dembele was just inside the Villa half when the pass was played.

More creative from McGinn this time, carrying the ball through midfield and picking out the run of Digne before a glancing header loops over the bar. Villa keep pushing forward.

John McGinn cannot stay away from incident tonight: he goes down holding his face pleading an elbow against Marquinhos, but the Villa midfielder lowered his head into the Brazilian’s arm more than anything. It feels like McGinn is going to get a PSG player sent off or walk himself before the night is over.

If Villa score the next goal then things could get interesting.

It has been a spirited response from Villa to those two PSG goals, but the tie is surely over.

This will require the mother of all remontadas at Villa Park, and it is surely beyond even serial trophy winner Unai Emery.

You get the sense that PSG could easily move into another gear if required.

The way they transform defence into attack in the blink of an eye is absorbing to watch.

An entertaining half of football but one that has surely taken the tie beyond Villa. There has been no shortage of endeavour and attacking intent from the home team. In fact, balancing that forward thrust with solidity has been the problem. PSG have scored from two swift counters, with Mendes and Hakimi springing forward into the spaces Villa have vacated. The French side continue to impress, but Luis Enrique will want them to avoid any more sloppy moments.

Villa’s two defenders manning the fort on the halfway were begging for an offside flag against Dembele, but eventually it goes up. There was some enterprising football once again from Villa, but when the attack broke down Cash and Digne were pushed on. A theme of the half.

Another good opening for Villa with Rogers finding Konsa with a cute reverse pass but the defender tried to pass when the space was there to take the shot on. McGinn has looked like a man keen to leave his mark all night, and he is booked for catching Kvaratskhelia late.

PSG probing around the box again after Villa fail to clear their lines, but Ruiz steers a shot straight at Martinez. Rashford provides an outlet for Villa to move up the pitch and win a throw in.

Shortly after the Villa goal, McGinn was involved in a tussle with Hakimi, and the PSG right-back was possibly fortunate to escape further punishment for a kick out with raised studs. There is no serious VAR check.

PSG have lost the ball in sloppy fashion on several occasions in this first half, and from a three-on-three Villa worked the ball well with Rashford laying the ball off to McGinn before the Scot found Tielemans. He went for the curler but the ball flicked off Pacho and beyond Donnarumma.

That Villa goal was well taken but it started with a very strange error from Kvicha Kvaratskhelia. He just seemed to fall over in midfield and the pitch opened up for Villa.

In the words of Barry Davies, you have to say that is magnificent.

PSG are so exhilarating to watch, they set traps and then break with lightning speed.

Both full-backs have now scored for the Ligue 1 champions and this is a masterclass so far.

Villa have not played in this competition for over 40 years and have been brilliant to get this far, but PSG are just on another level.

Are we watching this season’s Champions League winners?

Villa caught with numbers forward again, after almost winning the ball in the PSG box. It was four on two with Hakimi galloping away, and he played the ball to Dembele. In past campaigns, the forward may well have taken on an improbable shot but he picked out Nuno Mendes with a cute pull-back. The PSG left-back cracked a shot in off the post and that is surely that.

Another outrageously good counterattack, another goal from a PSG full-back. It was almost as if that tiny error that briefly conceded possession in a dangerous area for PSG in their own box was an invitation for Villa to commit. The home side were sliced open in quite spectacular fashion. The finish from Nuno Mendes, allowing the ball to run across his body and then to ping it in off the post was pretty remarkable. They didn’t used to make left-backs like that.

Villa are settling into their defensive shape now after finding out to their cost the perils of a PSG counter-attack. The downside of a more restrained strategy though is PSG keeping the ball with ease, but Marquinhos was very nearly caught on the ball by Onana.

Great effort from Morgan Rogers, found from a first-time pass from Tielemans. Rogers chopped inside Pacho onto his left foot and curled a shot not far wide of the far post. An under-cooked defensive header from PSG presented Villa with the chance.

PSG enjoy a few minutes of complete control, stroking the ball around and moving away from their markers with ease. With Villa beefing up midfield, Vitinha has dropped into the backline to dictate from deep. At times, central defenders Pacho and Marquinhos are carrying the ball out in front of Vitinha.

A rare slip-up from Nuno Mendes allowed Cash to carry the ball into a dangerous area, and he looked for Rogers but his shot was blocked. Then Marquinhos blocks against Rashford, but Pau Torres sees a volley saved from the resulting corner.

Loud Villa appears for handball against Marquinhos from a Rashford cross, but nothing doing. PSG looking a little shaky at the back but they have that three-goal cushion.

Villa desperately need the next goal in the tie, but the more pressing priority on a greasy pitch will be avoiding any further mistakes. PSG continue to back themselves to play out from deep at every opportunity. Villa fans might already be looking to Asensio, Watkins, Ramsey and Bailey sitting on the bench. Emery’s midfield selection is a conservative one.

This was always the danger.

Villa did make a stirring start but PSG are so quick and clinical on the counter-attack that they can punish any team.

That pass from Nuno Mendes down the left was outstanding and within seconds Achraf Hakimi had the ball in the net.

Game over after 11 minutes?

There was plenty in Villa’s first 10 minutes to be excited about, but it is hard to see a way back now. After Rashford lost the ball high up, PSG broke away down their left through the speed of Barcola. He looked for Dembele with a ball across the face of retreating defence which Martinez came off his line to claim. Under little pressure, Martinez palmed the ball out into a dangerous area and there was Hakimi to find the roof of the net via a deflection.

The pace of that PSG counterattack was breathtaking. It was all happening three paces quicker than Villa could react, from the moment Nuno Mendes sent Bradley Barcola down the left. Achraf Hakimi seemed to come from nowhere for the loose ball. A different level of good.

Better from PSG in the last few minutes, just drawing some of the venom out of the contest with some established possession.

Rogers leads Villa forward again, but the move breaks down when Rashford is dispossessed by Marquinhos.

Villa are looking dangerous whenever they get into the PSG’s half, but Marquinhos defends really well on the cover to snuff out the run of Rashford. Barcola tries to lead the PSG counter-charge but the referee tells him to get up after he hits the deck in search of a free-kick.

McGinn barreling his way into challenges already; Villa have started this game with a serious intensity, PSG are yet to settle on the ball. Vitinha drops into a left-sided centre-back position to try and get them going but Cash sends Barcola back the way and the crowd roar as the ball goes out for a throw.

Some hesitation in the Villa defence though allows Dembele to sneak in behind but Lucas Digne cleared not one but two crosses.

Rashford with some closing down from the front in the first minute that rushed PSG goalkeeper Donnarumma into a stray pass out for a throw. Early days, but it looks as if Villa are going to hit Onana with long throws.

Then McGinn wins a corner, and a near-post routine flashes across the six-yard box! Onana was not far away from meeting it, but a PSG head won a crucial defensive header behind for another corner.

Despite a Rashford foray into the box, it comes to nothing. Lively start from the home team.

Villa get the game started, and they will be attacking the Holte End at Villa Park in the first half. The rain is teeming down.

It seems inevitable that the battle between Villa’s Matty Cash and PSG winger Kvicha Kvaratskhelia will be as pivotal as last week’s first leg.

‘Kvaradona’ certainly came out on top in Paris, forcing an early booking for Cash which led to the defender’s substitution at half-time.

Cash’s replacement Axel Disasi did not fare any better, and Kvaratskhelia is unquestionably the PSG danger man here tonight.

Prince William is here and will be hoping that Unai Emery has come up with a strategy to pull off what will be one of the shock results of this year’s Champions League.

Perhaps in honour of Unai Emery’s success in the competition, the Europa League theme tune plays as the teams line up. It does not go unnoticed among the players, with Ezri Konsa sharing a laugh with Youri Tielemans.

The teams at Villa Park have walked out to the Europa League anthem. Whoever is in charge of the PA seems to have pressed the wrong button. He got there in the end. The famous Handel rip-off finally played as the teams get their tracksuits off.

We are motivated and we are excited.

We are in a really good momentum in the season. We are trying to get our best today and trying to get every energy.

We have to try to play as best as possible. Now is the moment to watch the game.

Every player is ready and every player has to be focused.

Away from Aston Villa, it will be impossible to take your eyes off PSG tonight.

With manager Luis Enrique in pursuit of what represents the Holy Grail to the club’s super-ambitious owners, PSG have a number of outstanding talents.

Kvicha Kvaratskhelia, the Georgia genius also known as Kvaradona, and teenage sensation Désiré Doué were both excellent in the first leg.

Ousmane Dembélé is also a huge threat while Vitinha, previously of Wolves, is the king of composure in midfield.

How do Villa combat so many threats? Meticulous Unai Emery will have been burning the midnight oil in a bid to find a solution.

The decision to start Marcus Rashford ahead of Ollie Watkins has certainly raised some eyebrows, despite the Manchester United loanee’s past CV.

There was an expectation that Ollie Watkins would get the nod up front, but Emery has stuck with Rashford, who has a happy knack of scoring against PSG but was quiet last week.

Amadou Onana, Villa’s £50 million summer purchase, has been nursed back from injury but starts tonight rather than the more attack-minded Jacob Ramey.

Onana will play deeper in Villa’s midfield alongside Kamara, with McGinn and Tielemans making up a box higher up. Morgan Rogers will play in a roving attacking role, but is also a central midfielder by trade.

It is an engine room full of guile, strength and technique. Emery has picked a team to get to grips with Neves, Vitinha and Fabian Ruiz; fabulous players who can perhaps be ruffled physically.

It means Emery can call upon Watkins, Bailey, Asensio and Ramsey as attacking changes from the bench if required.

Aston Villa have not operated in what is now the Champions League since 1983, but have taken to it impressively.

At times, they have looked like seasoned European veterans as the wins over Bayern Munich, Bologna, RB Leipzig, Celtic and Club Brugge underline.

Villa Park has also been a venue deserving of these stellar nights, with pre-match fireworks, tifos and light shows. 

Before kick-off the atmosphere outside this historic stadium has been electric. When the game starts, expect the noise levels to be deafening.

Scarves have been placed on seats to try and make this game as partisan as possible.

Half-and-half scarves were on sale in the streets, which gives me the opportunity to pose an important question:

A waste of wool, or worthwhile memorabilia?

At the end of the match there will be only one team in the semi-final and the other team is out. That is the beauty of the competition.

Aston Villa are down at the moment but the tie remains very open and both teams know. There is no over-confidence in our side, we have got motivation to overcome the problems Aston Villa can set us and reach our aim of winning the match.

When people talk about favourites before the match...the road of the Champions League is full of favourites who have been knocked out. We knew we were better and deserved to win in the first leg, but there is a second story. Who is going to win tomorrow?

We have the advantage, but we don’t speculate about certainties. If Aston Villa are better than us they can overcome us, so we need to show we deserve to be in the semi-final.

Starting XI: Donnarumma; Hakimi, Pacho, Marquinhos, Mendes; Vitinha, Ruiz, Neves; Dembele, Kvaratskhelia, Barcola

“Do you want to bet against us?” 

That was a famous Ron Saunders quote, from the 1981 title winning season, that has gone down in Aston Villa history.

It seems entirely appropriate tonight.

Villa face a monumental task to overturn a two-goal deficit against Champions League favourites Paris St-Germain in this second leg, but the mood is one of defiance.

Unai Emery has urged his players to create some history of their own and, in his programme column, writes: “Let’s dream and believe together”.

It will be a huge challenge, but with Emery around anything is possible.

Our expectation is to get a good result of the second leg. Of course the fact that they won 3-1 is changing something. But a lot? No. Why? Because we have to win.

We had to win with 2-1 and with 3-1 now. But now, we have to win with one more goal... We played how we wanted to in Paris but the result obviously wasn’t what we hoped for. If we are winning, we can be close.

Our objective is to play with one strong plan in our tactical way tomorrow and try to be consistent and try to understand how the match is going in 90 minutes.

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The last time Villa Park hosted a European Cup quarter-final was March 2 1983, three days before Kajagoogoo’s Too Shy was knocked off top spot in the music charts by Billie Jean. 

The then holders were defeated by Juventus, and Aston Villa have been waiting a long time for a night of this magnitude to come around again. Conceding a late third goal to Paris St-Germain in the first leg is unlikely to subdue the buoyant atmosphere, but it was a bitter blow to Villa’s hopes of progressing further in the competition.

This is the first of four pivotal games in Villa’s run-in, with league fixtures against Newcastle and Man City preceding an FA Cup semi-final against Crystal Palace.

PSG had the benefit of no league game at the weekend, but Villa enjoyed the next best thing by playing Southampton who were easily dispatched. Ollie Watkins scored a brilliant finish at St Mary’s, and is knocking on the door for a start tonight after Unai Emery plumped for Marcus Rashford in Paris. 

With Villa chasing goals, there is a case for both players starting but it looks an uphill battle against a PSG unit who have delivered the strongest collective performances in the competition. 

Luis Enrique’s team are strengthened by the return of captain Marquinhos from suspension, with Fabian Ruiz at risk of missing the semi-final first leg if he picks up a yellow.

PSG’s midfield axis of Joao Neves and Vitinha have been outstanding throughout their Champions League run, but Villa have the running power to challenge them running back towards their own goal.

If they can get the ball that is: Vitinha played 141 passes in the first leg, the most by a PSG player in a Champions League match on record, and second only to Xavi for Barcelona against Chelsea in 2012.

Full team news on the way shortly.