PSG survive second-half Aston Villa onslaught to progress to UCL semis | OneFootball

Heading into the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final with a two-goal deficit, Aston Villa knew they had it all to do if they were to overcome the mighty Paris Saint-Germain.

And while they fell agonisingly short, losing 6-5 on aggregate, there was no disputing what a magnificent display they produced to win 3-2 on the night.

Warranting enormous praise for coming back from going down 2-0 to reign supreme, their second half performance was absolutely electric, as PSG just survived the ferocious Villa onslaught.

Having seen off a couple of threatening early Villa set pieces, PSG were a typically fearsome proposition in possession with their astute mechanics, as it was again a joy to watch their fluidity, crispness and tactical intelligence. Posing questions relentlessly to Villa on who should be marking who in what zone, their elite rotations and dovetailing regularly created space and weaknesses in Villa’s shape for them to exploit.

Persistently dismantling and manipulating Villa’s high line and defensive constellation, the Parisian giants smartly found answers to bypass their foes. Whether it was a central midfielder (usually Vitinha) dropping into the backline wide or centrally, executing nifty opposite movements to generate room in behind, the wicked rotations between the midfielders, fullbacks and forwards or how they morphed into many different shapes and had many variations up their sleeve ensured they made life tough for Villa.

All on the same wavelength and cutting a united figure, which has been a key defining feature of Luis Enrique’s PSG, they strategically tore apart Villa.

Given the state of play, they took full advantage of Villa needing to chase the tie to expose their foes in transition and when they pressed high. Boasting a plethora of players that excel in 1v1 scenarios and who have amazing physical, athletic and technical qualities, it was little wonder how PSG’s two first-half strikes came about.

While the opener had a touch of fortune attached to it after PSG initially lost the ball in build-up, once Marquinhos counterpressed to regain it, they sliced beyond Villa incisively. Playing a superb up-back-through combination to find the marauding Achraf Hakimi, who Lucas Digne failed to track, this subsequently left PSG in a 4v2 with oceans of space to explore before Nuno Mendes fired home with aplomb.

Then for the second, Villa were shredded on the counter when Marcus Rashford sloppily lost the ball, with Mendes releasing Bradley Barcola in behind to put them off to the races. The French sensation proceeded to fire in a dangerous cross into the area, which Emiliano Martinez spilt, to allow Hakimi to finish brilliantly.

Blowing past the home team’s pressing and rest defence structure to punish Villa emphatically, this was exactly the start PSG were hoping for.

So hard to stop and settle into a rhythm to combat, Unai Emery’s team struggled immensely to limit PSG. But, to their credit, Emery’s men responded impressively to pull one back ahead of the interval through Youri Tielemans’ deflected blast.

Seeing as Villa were in a centrally compact mid-block prior to this goal, upon recovering possession in the middle, this meant they were closely connected and had many nearby passing options to hit PSG on the break. Indeed, with PSG’s full-backs high, central midfielders advanced and centre-backs sitting off, Villa capitalised on this 6v3 to consequently burst upfield with gusto.

They vitally carried this momentum into the second stanza, for they rapidly bagged another – this time courtesy of some shrewd work building out from the back. Knowing Khvicha Kvaratskhelia would press Pau Torres on the angle while planning to keep Digne in his cover shadow, John McGinn wisely dropped deep to be an outlet, which drew out Hakimi. With Kvaratskhelia high and out of the game, left-back Digne was free to ensure Villa had a 3v2 overload. In a panic, Hakimi rushed to Digne, which allowed McGinn to sharply turn and race forward unmarked.

Due to Morgan Rogers and Marcus Rashford pinning PSG’s central defenders, who were retreating to handle Villa’s attacking weapons, McGinn didn’t need a second invitation to continue his foray into the final third. When the Scot was ready, he duly unleashed a wicked shot from range to level the ledger on the night.

Almost immediately after, following a failed corner clearance, Villa rippled the back of the net again through Ezri Konsa to put them in front and just one down on aggregate. Game on.

Despite pushing hard to grab another to take things to extra time by creating some fine chances, making a host of offensive substitutions and dominating the closing stages, it just wasn’t to be on an evening where Villa won the battle (3-2), but PSG prevailed overall (6-5).

The Villans, however, have every reason to be proud of their efforts, even though they lost in agonising fashion and held the ascendancy in terms of expected goals (2.26 to 1.70), for they showed tremendous character, fight and determination to not capitulate after going two down in their quest to complete an epic comeback.

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

“We played two legs here; we competed well in the first one, but it was not enough. And today we competed better, and we were close. It was fantastic today with our supporters, the crowd transmitted the energy. But there is still a bit more for us to do to get (to the level).”

For Villa, they now quickly shift their focus to securing a top-five Premier League place, as they take on Newcastle United on the weekend. Meanwhile, PSG head to the UCL semis, where they’ll likely face off with Arsenal, and hope to end their Ligue 1 campaign unbeaten in their hunt for a coveted treble.