SO NEAR YET SO FAR FOR EMERY

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.

- By Andy Dunn

Yes, they are out of the Champions League. And yes, over two legs of this quarter-final, 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. For the 15 minutes more before Martinez turned Bradley Barcola's cross into a gift for Achraf Hakimi, Villa had made a lively start.