Aston Villa 3-2 PSG (4-5 agg): Match report & 3 talking points from frenetic second leg

Paris Saint-Germain squeezed into the Champions League semi-finals on aggregate despite falling to a 3-2 defeat to Aston Villa on Tuesday.

Achraf Hakimi and Nuno Mendes had PSG two goals ahead on the half-hour mark and, with a 5-1 lead on aggregate, it seemed certain the French side would breeze through. Youri Tielemans, John McGinn and Ezri Konsa soon had Villa ahead on the night, however.

Villa had more than enough chances to win the tie, only to find Gianluigi Donnarumma in glorious form to propel PSG through to the final four.

How the game unfolded

A nightmare start for Villa saw them concede after just 11 minutes. Marcus Rashford conceded possession and a lightning quick counter culminated in a low cross from Bradley Barcola which Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez failed to deal with. The Argentine parried the ball into the path of the onrushing Hakimi, who needed no invitation to thunder the ball into the back of the net.

Pau Torres stung the gloves of Gianluigi Donnarumma in search of a speedy response, before Morgan Rogers bent wide after a nice bit of individual play, but PSG looked to have ended all hopes of a comeback when another full-back, Mendes this time, rattled a glorious effort off the inside of the post and into the back of the net 28 minutes in.

The first half did end on a high not for Villa, however, as Tielemans’ effort picked up a wicked deflection off Willian Pacho en route to wrong-footing Donnarumma to give the hosts something to fight for at the interval.

Ousmane Dembele had the ball in the back of the net early in the second half but eventually saw his celebrations cut short by one of the most unnecessarily delayed offside flags you’re ever likely to see, and the PSG frustrations only grew when McGinn lashed home a glorious effort from outside the box almost immediately after to tie things up on the evening.

Villa could have easily taken the lead just seconds later when Marcus Rashford’s thunderous strike drew a glorious save from Donnarumma, but a sensational run from the Manchester United loanee set up Ezri Konsa to crash home a third shortly before the hour mark.

The Italian stopper was then needed to make another full-stretch save to stop a Tielemans header, but he would likely have been unable to deny Konsa from adding his second goal of the night had the centre-back managed to make contact with a free header inside the six-yard box.

PSG weathered the storm but could only turn the game into an end-to-end affair, leaving those inside Villa Park unsure which end would see the match’s next goal. Martinez made a handful of smart saves to deny PSG on the counter as Villa found themselves running out of time to find the goal needed to tie things up on aggregate.

With the final act of the game, Ian Maatsen thought he had snatched the equaliser with a fierce volley, but Willian Pacho blocked his strike on the line to send PSG through to their third semi-final in five years.

Check out the player ratings from Aston Villa 3-2 PSG here.

This competition has opened the eyes of the global audience to PSG’s greatness, and heading into the game, there were many who felt confident they were looking at the next European champions. That remains a distinct possibility but those voices are noticably quieter after this showing.

The first half was full of everything good about PSG. They defended well early on and attacked with a ruthlessness you’d expect from such heavy favourites to win this tie, but the second half was rare evidence that Luis Enrique’s side can be beaten.

Conceding the second goal appeared to rock the Ligue 1 winners, who have long been accused of lacking experience when it comes to dealing with genuine adversity. Perhaps Villa have offered up a recipe for how to beat PSG for those remaining in this competition.

Few goalkeepers in world football attract the same level of criticism as Donnarumma. Hailed as one of the best in the world for what feels like an eternity while somehow still being just 26 years old, the Italian is regularly targeted by criticism whenever he makes a mistake which, admittedly, is far more frequently than it should be.

He may have conceded three here, but PSG could have easily shipped six or seven had it not been for their goalkeeper. Donnarumma pulled out utterly sensational saves to deny Rashford, Tielemans and PSG loanee Marco Asensio in the second half as this tie threatened to run away from the Parisians.

Donnarumma ended the game with five saves, most of which were truly crucial. Make no mistake about it, PSG would have been eliminated here had it not been for him.

There were more than a few eyebrows raised when Villa’s team sheet revealed Rashford would be starting as a central striker in place of the increasingly frustrated Ollie Watkins.

It seemed certain to be a decision Unai Emery would regret as Rashford struggled in the first half and even gave the ball away for PSG’s opener. With the French side looking comfortable at the back, many fans were crying out for Watkins’ hold-up play to change the game.

Rather than tweak his personnel at the break, Emery stayed faithful to Rashford and soon got his reward. The Manchester United loanee would have scored himself had it not been for an excellent Donnarumma save, but his assist for Konsa’s goal was even easier on the eye.

The ability has never been in question with Rashford, it’s a question of finding the right way to use him. That’s clearly still a work-in-progress with Emery, but the Villa boss struck gold in this second half.

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