UCL: Villa fall just short against PSG

Aston Villa couldn’t complete a stunning comeback against Paris St-Germain as they exited the Champions League on a dramatic night at Villa Park.

Villa made a huge attempt to overturn a 3-1 deficit to reach the semifinal, but their hopes looked in tatters when they were two goals down inside the first half-hour. They were able to complete a turnaround, winning the tie 3-2, which finished 4-5 on aggregate.

Achraf Hakimi punished Villa keeper Emiliano Martinez over his mistake to put PSG ahead.

 Nuno Mendes then doubled the French side’s lead to leave Villa needing to score at least four goals.

The Villa fans raised the atmosphere as Unai Emery’s team refused to yield and launched a magnificent response to put this hugely talented PSG side on the rack.

Youri Tielemans began the turnaround by pulling one back after 34 minutes with a deflected shot.

In the second half, pure theatre unfolded in front of a frenzied Villa Park, and Villa struck twice in two minutes to spark hopes of a remarkable revival.

 John McGinn equalized from 20 yards after 55 minutes before defender Ezri Konsa put them ahead on the night after fantastic work by Marcus Rashford.

 Villa’s belief grew, and they continued the search for an equalizer on aggregate, but there were three crucial saves from PSG keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, which proved to be what the visitors needed to proceed to the semifinals.

The Italian shot-stopper dived high to his left to magnificently claw away Rashford’s rising drive, then somehow turned out Tielemans’ header before saving at the feet of substitute Marco Asensio.

PSG managed to the game as they regained a measure of composure to hold on.

They will meet Arsenal or Real Madrid in the semifinal. Villa’s Champions League thrill ride continued until the very last minute. The English side gave this superb PSG side a huge scare before finally going out.