IT'S SO NEAR, YET SO FAR FOR VILLA

THEY know a thing or two about European heroes at Aston Villa and, for a gloriously chaotic short spell, this generation of players took their place among them.

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Yes, they are out. And yes, over two legs, they were beaten by a side that was more accomplished.

But what tells you everything about a Villa team that, on aggregate, trailed by four goals after 27 minutes of this second leg, is for all their brilliance, the hero for Paris Saint-Germain was keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma. He conceded three but made a string of world-class stops to deny the hosts the most remarkable of comebacks.

However, for all the spirit shown, there was still some fault in Villa’s display.

Emi Martinez was not able to put his gloves where his mouth was, while head coach Unai Emery will be questioned for leaving out Ollie Watkins.