Valiant Villa fall short but have exposed PSG frailties

Au revoir, Aston Villa. They will not have to clear space in the upper tier of Villa Park for the commentary of another European Cup-winning goal. Or not just yet, anyway. The class of 1982 remain unique in their history, just as the team of 2025 may prove to be for Paris Saint-Germain.

- RICHARD JOLLY

But if there was a way to exit the Champions League, this was it. Valiant and magnificent, Villa beat the potential champions of Europe on the night. They threatened a comeback to rival the Remontada Luis Enrique’s Barcelona produced to beat Unai Emery’s PSG in 2017. Two goals behind on the evening, trailing 5-1 on aggregate, Villa scored three times in response. Like Bayern Munich before them, Paris Saint-Germain were beaten in Birmingham. But if it was only over 90 minutes, there may be a legacy if the frailties Villa highlighted can be exposed by Arsenal or Real Madrid in the semi-final.

For Villa, a first European Cup run in 42 years ended too soon. They departed rueing the injury-time goal Nuno Mendes scored in Paris and the reflexes of the outstanding Gianluigi Donnarumma showed at Villa Park but cherishing memories of a special night. “We can feel happy, we can feel proud,” said Emery. “In our process, tonight was the highest level we achieved.”

There was Marcus Rashford, playing like a man possessed, his revival accelerated as he tore into PSG. There was John McGinn, powering a fightback in idiosyncratic fashion. There was Youri Tielemans, his terrific season garnished with their first goal. There was Ezri Konsa, slotting in his shot to put Villa 3-2 up, giving them half an hour to score the goal that would earn extra time.