Kvaratskhelia genius gives PSG the edge against Villa

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia scored one of the great Champions League goals as Paris Saint-Germain came from behind to beat Aston Villa 3-1 in the first leg of their quarter-final tie on Wednesday.

- Agencies

PARIS:

Morgan Rogers had given Villa a 35th-minute lead at the Parc des Princes to silence the home fans, but PSG were quickly back level through a fine strike by Desire Doue.

Kvaratskhelia then took centre stage with a stunning effort on 49 minutes, before Nuno Mendes added a crucial third in stoppage time, giving PSG a significant two-goal cushion to take into the return in Birmingham next Tuesday.

Having eliminated Liverpool in the last 16, Luis Enrique's team are now in a very strong position to reach the semi-finals for the second season running.

"We are happy with this result but we have to keep going because there is the second game and the job is not finished," Kvaratskhelia told broadcaster Canal Plus, before claiming he could not clearly recall his sublime goal.

"It was OK. I didn't remember it exactly but now I will check inside so I will see if it was quite good."