Emery seeks redemption on PSG return
- Published
When the key elements of Villa's strategy to outflank this outstanding, emerging PSG side - who have already beaten Manchester City in the group stage and sent Liverpool out in the last 16 - are studied, eyes will turn as much to the master European strategist in their technical area as to those carrying out his instructions on the pitch.
And the narrative of what promises to be a thunderous night at Parc des Princes is held together by a selection of sub-plots, with Unai Emery the central figure.
The Spaniard won seven trophies in two-year spell at PSG between 2016 and 2018 - including Ligue 1 in his second and final season – but his work here is still viewed through the prism of a nightmare night that will forever be known as "Le Remontada" (The Comeback).
It was the last-16 tie in the Champions League in 2017 when PSG thrashed the vintage Barcelona side boasting feared forwards Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez 4-0 in the first leg in Paris.
But in dramatic, unforgettable fashion, the French side were beaten 6-1 in a controversial return at the Camp Nou - a shattering loss that included conceding three goals in seven staggering minutes.
Emery was the first coach in Champions League history to lose a first-leg lead of such a margin, an aberration that cast a shadow over his successes in Paris.
An added twist in the tale is that Luis Enrique, who will stand a few yards away in the PSG technical area on Wednesday, was Barcelona's coach on the night even he described as "a horror movie not a drama".
Emery returns to Paris in a contest that gives the 53-year-old a shot at redemption rather than a quest for revenge.