'He was on fire' - so was Emery wrong to replace Rashford?

Rashford has made 15 appearances in all competitions for Aston Villa, scoring three goals and registering five assists

He may not have scored himself, but Marcus Rashford arguably provided the spark that almost led Aston Villa to one of the great Champions League comebacks against Paris St-Germain.

The England forward had been fairly quiet in the first half as the French champions looked on course for a routine win, leading 2-0 after 27 minutes and 5-1 on aggregate.

But Rashford starred in the second period, tormenting the PSG defence as Villa fought back to lead 3-2 on the night and come within one goal of levelling the tie.

In the end they just couldn't find a fourth goal, but the 27-year-old, on loan at Villa amid an uncertain Manchester United future, showed exactly what he is capable of against a side tipped to go all the way in this season's Champions League.

"He is feeling better and he played a fantastic match," Villa boss Unai Emery told Amazon Prime.

"We are very happy. If he is happy, we are happy."

'He's proven everyone wrong' - how good was Rashford against PSG?

Rashford's January move appears to have revived the England international's career but, after a number of decent displays, this was arguably his best for Emery's side.

The way he set up Villa's third goal against PSG was a brilliant display of skill as he nutmegged one player to get into the box, sidestepped another before cutting the ball back perfectly for Ezri Konsa to fire home.

That assist was his fifth for the club - no Premier League player has managed more since his Villa debut.

Rashford memorably scored a last-minute penalty for Manchester United against PSG in 2019 to send them out of the Champions League, and he almost came back to haunt them once again as only a stunning Gianluigi Donnarumma stop denied him finding the top corner.

"Marcus Rashford didn't score, but the energy levels that he had... he was making those defenders make mistakes," former Villa and Manchester United striker Dion Dublin said on BBC Radio 5 Live.

"For me, he was man of the match for Villa."

Marcus Rashford operated as the central striker against PSG - but popped up everywhere in attack, often drawn out wide in a lively display

Rashford's impressive display was underlined by the statistics.

He had the most touches inside the opposition box (12) of any player, created the most chances (four) and produced the most crosses on the pitch (nine).

"Rashford was brilliant," former Villa full-back Stephen Warnock said on BBC Radio 5 Live.

"He was involved in everything and everything that was good, was coming from him."

Former Liverpool striker and two-time Champions League winner Daniel Sturridge admitted Rashford's performance was the kind that showed critics were wrong to write him off.

"The narrative before he came here was that he's not the same player any more," Sturridge told Amazon Prime.

"That was the narrative. He's proven everyone wrong.

"He has come here and shown everybody this is who I am, and this is how I play. This is what I can bring to the table."

'Tempo dropped' when he was taken off

Emery has been rightly commended for turning Villa from relegation battlers into Champions League contenders since he was appointed in October 2022.

But the Spaniard was questioned for making a wrong call against PSG, with his decision to replace Rashford with Ollie Watkins in the 76th minute appearing to disrupt Villa's momentum.

"I don't know what Unai Emery saw, with the way Marcus Rashford was playing, he got it wrong," Warnock added.

"It felt like the tempo dropped when he made that substitution. You need a goal - why are you taking a striker off?"

Moments before the substitution was made, Dublin added: "Marcus Rashford is on fire tonight. You don't want to take him off."

What does the future hold for Rashford?

Rashford's loan spell comes with an option to buy for £40m.

With just over a month of the season remaining, he and Villa have a decision to make over his future.

However, Emery said nothing has been decided yet, and added: "It depends on the circumstances for now and the next weeks."

What about Watkins?

Watkins also likely has a big decision to make too.

The England striker, who was the subject of a failed bid from Arsenal in January, has a decent return in the Premier League this season with 14 goals.

But the 29-year-old has often found himself having to settle for a place on the bench this term and that was the case on Tuesday, which meant he has started just one of Villa's last six games.

Watkins came off the bench to score against Southampton last weekend, after which he expressed his frustration at not starting more games. With a World Cup next year, he will need regular football to keep himself in contention for a place in the Three Lions squad.

"For me, I'm not happy to sit on the bench," he said after the Saints game.

"It's disappointing every game that I'm on the bench, but it's the manager's decision at the end of the day."