Paris Saint-Germain’s Nuno Mendes (left) fires past Aston Villa goalkeeper Emi Martinez to seal a 3-1 win in their first-leg UEFA Champions League quarter-final at Parc des
Princes in Paris, France on Wednesday. (Photo: AFP)
April 10, 2025
Aston Villa’s Emery remains bullish despite defeat in Paris
...as Barcelona demolishes Dortmund
PARIS, France (AFP) — Aston Villa coach Unai Emery insisted he still believes his side can get the better of Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and reach the UEFA Champions League semi-finals despite a 3-1 defeat in the first leg of their last-eight tie on Wednesday.
Villa took the lead in the first half in Paris through Morgan Rogers only for the hosts to turn the game on its head thanks to stunning strikes by Desire Doue and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia either side of the interval.
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And a Nuno Mendes effort in stoppage time which gives PSG a two-goal cushion to take to Villa Park for the return appears to leave Emery’s side with a huge task to turn the tie around.
“At 2-1 we were thinking about playing to win in the next match, and at 3-1 it is still the same,” Emery said.
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“But we are here and enjoying it, and I am very proud of the players. We competed fantastically and we were close to getting a good result.
“At the end, with this goal, it is still more or less the same.
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“Villa Park is our home, and hopefully there we will be stronger. But of course they are still favourites. They showed their power and individual quality.”
Villa came to the French capital on a streak of seven straight wins in all competitions which has boosted their chances of qualifying for the Champions League again next season and taken them to the FA Cup semi-finals.
However, it will likely now require a special performance in Birmingham next Tuesday for them to carry on their current run in the Champions League.
“I am not happy but I am satisfied with the performance of the team. It is special for us to be in Paris and playing a Champions League quarter-final,” Emery added.
“The second leg will be just as difficult at 3-1 as it was at 2-1. We have to win.”
Emery’s opposite number, Luis Enrique, expressed delight with his team’s performance as he emphasised that PSG would not sit back and “speculate” in the second leg on Tuesday.
“The game had a bit of everything but we controlled it,” he said.
“It is always difficult to attack a team who sit in a medium to low block and they scored on a transition from practically the first time they got into our box.
“But then ‘Des’ got the equaliser and again in the second half I thought we deserved to score more goals and win the game. The third goal at the end was the finishing touch.”
The quality of PSG’s goals was exceptional, with Doue’s marvellous strike for the equaliser probably topped by Kvaratskhelia’s remarkable individual effort.
Mendes then rounded Emiliano Martinez to make it 3-1 following a superb Ousmane Dembele pass, capping PSG’s victory in a game which saw them enjoy 68 percent possession and 30 attempts on goal to Villa’s eight.
Meanwhile, Robert Lewandowski hit a brace to help a devastating Barcelona rout Borussia Dortmund 4-0 in a one-sided game also on Wednesday.
Hansi Flick’s Barca are a step away from reaching the semi-finals for the first time since 2019 and extended their unbeaten run to 23 matches.
The five-time winners took the lead against last year’s runners-up through red-hot winger Raphinha before Lewandowski reached 40 goals for the season with his double.
Teenager Lamine Yamal was an unstoppable force throughout and deftly prodded home Barcelona’s fourth as Dortmund collapsed.
Barca, who last lifted the trophy in 2015 are aiming to seal a final four clash against Inter Milan or Bayern Munich when they visit Germany on Tuesday.
