Summary

  1. get involved

    Get Involvedpublished at 09:16 British Summer Time 10 April

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    For Villa I think it would be a success even if they get knocked out. To get to this stage is a huge achievement.

    Rohan

  2. 'I would love to see Villa turn it around'published at 09:13 British Summer Time 10 April

    PSG 3-1 Aston Villa

    Thomas Hitzlsperger cannot have had much sleep.

    After pulling the late shift as a pundit on BBC's Match of the Day, the former Aston Villa midfielder was up bright and early to speak with the 5 Live Breakfast team.

    He repeated his view that it would be no surprise if PSG went on to reach the final - but added: "From my view and as a Villa fan, I would like to see Villa turn it around."

  3. 'I wouldn't be surprised to see them in the final'published at 09:09 British Summer Time 10 April

    PSG 3-1 Aston Villa

    Former Aston Villa midfielder Thomas Hitzlsperger said on BBC Match of the Day that he would not be surprised to see Paris St-Germain make it all the way to the Champions League final in Munich.

    Click on the play icon to see his full analysis.

  4. PSG thriving in post-superstars erapublished at 09:04 British Summer Time 10 April

    PSG 3-1 Aston Villa

    Khvicha Kvaratskhelia of PSG celebrates his goal with Achraf Hakimi and Desire DoueImage source, Getty Images

    It wasn't long ago when Paris St-Germain boasted a front three of Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Neymar.

    However, the days of big-name superstars are behind for the Parisians following the arrival of Luis Enrique as their manager.

    Messi and Neymar left in 2023 followed by Mbappe to Real Madrid last summer and with them, according to many, PSG's hopes of winning the Champions League.

    But with 19-year-old Desire Doue and Georgian winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia in attack this season, they arguably now have a better shot than ever before of winning their first European title.

    Along with Doue and Kvaratskhelia, Ousmane Dembele, Bradley Barcola and Goncalo Ramos have all contributed as PSG wrapped up another Ligue 1 title last weekend.

    But their real ambition lies in Europe.

  5. get involved

    Get Involvedpublished at 08:57 British Summer Time 10 April

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    PSG have impressed me with their organisation, teamwork, and discipline this season. It's a change from previous years where they were trying to shoehorn superstars into a starting XI like you'd do on your Fantasy Football or Football Manager computer game.

    Paul, Dublin

  6. 'Importance of third goal there for all to see'published at 08:48 British Summer Time 10 April

    PSG 3-1 Aston Villa

    Paul Robinson
    Former England goalkeeper on Football Daily

    The importance of that third goal was there for all to see. The manager immediately leapt off his bench and jumped into the arms of his coaching staff. The atmosphere inside the stadium had been electric all night, but even more so when that goal went in. It was a relief, it was a celebration and, listen, it was no more than they deserved.

    Luis Enrique salutes PSG fansImage source, Getty Images
  7. Dominant but not out of sightpublished at 08:43 British Summer Time 10 April

    PSG 3-1 Aston Villa

    Despite Paris St-Germain's dominance and the way Aston Villa struggled to exert any level of control, especially in the second half, Unai Emery will have been more than happy to leave Parc des Princes with a 2-1 defeat.

    But their backs-to-the-wall display was somewhat undone by Nuno Mendes' late third goal...

  8. Villa's struggle for controlpublished at 08:36 British Summer Time 10 April

    PSG 3-1 Aston Villa

    That previous pass map of Vitinha's looks even more incredible when you compare with a man that was playing in a similar position for Aston Villa.

    Boubacar Kamara, who, like Vitinha played the full 90 minutes in Paris, only made 16 passes on the night. That's 132 less than his opposite number.

    But that's not to single out Kamara because only three players; Ezri Konsa (23), Lucas Digne (24) and Youri Tielemans (28), completed more than 20 passes in a Villa shirt.

    For Paris St-Germain, no player that played the full 90 minutes made less than 50.

    As a whole, PSG completed 795 passes as a team, 595 of those came in Aston Villa's half.

    Villa on the other hand made 205 on the night, 91 of which were in the opposition half.

    A graphic showing Boubacar Kamara's pass map against PSG
  9. Postpublished at 08:31 British Summer Time 10 April

    Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, obviously.

    For the Aston Villa player charged with marking Vitinha in the return leg at Villa Park, the Portugal midfielder's pass map graphic will be living in their nightmares...

  10. From Chorley to Surely (the best midfield performance of the night)published at 08:27 British Summer Time 10 April

    PSG 3-1 Aston Villa

    In January 2021, Portuguese midfielder Vitinha scored the only goal of the game as Wolves edged past National League North side Chorley in the FA Cup fourth round.

    Last night, he put on an absolute midfield clinic in the Champions League quarter-final.

    He ran the show for Paris St-Germain in the centre of the park, completing 148 passes on the night - significantly more than anyone else on the field.

    While that as a standalone stat is impressive, if you take a look at his map below, he actually only misplaced four all evening.

    148 passes out of 152, giving him a 97.4% success rate.

    Seriously, just look at that map. It's a thing of beauty.

    A graphic showing PSG midfielder Vitinha's pass map against Aston Villa
  11. Three goals 'no more than PSG deserved'published at 08:20 British Summer Time 10 April

    PSG 3-1 Aston Villa

    Paul Robinson
    Former England goalkeeper on Football Daily

    Aston Villa were still in the game at 2-1, but 3-1 didn't even flatter them [Paris St-Germain]. If they had put six past Aston Villa tonight, they [Villa] couldn't have complained, such was the dominance that PSG had.

    It was no more than they deserved, Paris were absolutely excellent tonight.

  12. PSG dominancepublished at 08:14 British Summer Time 10 April

    PSG 3-1 Aston Villa

    Paris St-Germain sent a warning out to everyone when they knocked Premier League leaders Liverpool out of the Champions League.

    And if anyone thought that performance was a fluke - they backed it up last night against Aston Villa.

    The statistics tell their own story. It was a dominant display from the French champions.

    While the last-minute goal was a sickener from a Villa perspective - they can feel fortunate that they are heading to Villa Park with just a two-goal deficit.

    A graphic showing the match statistics between PSG and Aston Villa
  13. Will PSG be a test too far for Villa?published at 08:12 British Summer Time 10 April

    PSG 3-1 Aston Villa

    Anyone who witnessed Aston Villa's performance at home to Bayern Munich in the league phase will not be discounting their chances of pulling off another upset in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final.

    But do Paris St-Germain represent a different level of test for Unai Emery's side?

    Their blistering performance in the first leg suggests they might be a tougher nut to crack...

  14. get involved

    Get Involved - can Villa battle back to beat PSG?published at 08:03 British Summer Time 10 April

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    Villa Park will be electric next week. If we get an early goal, then anything could happen.

    William

    Your Royal Highness?

  15. PSG well placed to beat Villa, but Arsenal favourites for title - Optapublished at 08:00 British Summer Time 10 April

    PSG 3-1 Aston Villa

    It would seem that this current PSG vintage is a different beast to the side that capitulated so famously at the Nou Camp in 2017.

    And the latest predictions made by Opta's supercomputer would certainly back that up, giving Luis Enrique's side a 91.5% chance of reaching the semi-finals at Aston Villa's expense.

    Unai Emery's side, meanwhile, are being given just an 8.5% chance of overturning their two-goal deficit to make it past Paris St-Germain.

    Interestingly, Arsenal remain favourites (27.8%) to win the whole thing after their Declan Rice-inspired 3-0 victory at home to Real Madrid in the first leg of their quarter-final tie.

    Mikel Arteta's side are being given a 95.7% chance of finishing the job in the Bernabeu, and 52.9% of beating either PSG or Aston Villa in the last four to reach the final.

    Opta's Champions League predictions
  16. Is a two-goal lead the most dangerous in Champions League football?published at 07:55 British Summer Time 10 April

    PSG 3-1 Aston Villa

    Luis Enrique and his players know that their quarter-final tie is not over, but what chance do Aston Villa have of hauling themselves back into this tie and even winning it?

    Well Paris St-Germain might have a decent record away from home, but similar comebacks have been achieved before.

    Nine teams have been exactly two goals down after an away leg in a knockout Champions League tie and managed to successfully turn things around at home.

    The most recent to do that were Juventus, who lost 2-0 at Atletico Madrid in the 2018-19 last-16 stage but won their second leg 3-0.

    PSG sides of the past have twice surrendered two-goal leads at the halfway stage of a Champions League knockout tie to be eliminated - the most of any club. It occurred for them against Chelsea in 2013-14 and against Manchester United in 2018-19.

    Famously, the Parisians once surrendered a four-goal first-leg advantage against Barcelona, winning 4-0 at home but losing 6-1 at the Nou Camp.

    That happened in 2016-17 when the French side were managed by Emery, and when PSG's current boss Luis Enrique was in charge of Barcelona.

    Barca complete comeback against PSGImage source, Getty Images
  17. 'The job is not finished'published at 07:48 British Summer Time 10 April

    PSG 3-1 Aston Villa

    Paris St-Germain head coach Luis Enrique sounded a note of caution in his own post-match celebrations, saying it will be "difficult" for his team at Villa Park.

    While Georgian goalscorer Khvicha Kvaratskhelia told BBC Radio 5 Live: "The job is not finished."

    Yet recent history suggests PSG are in the driving seat.

    They overturned a one-goal deficit at Anfield to beat Liverpool on penalties in the last 16 and have been formidable on the road this season, winning on their last 16 away trips in all competitions.

    Luis EnriqueImage source, Getty Images
  18. 'At home we are really strong'published at 07:44 British Summer Time 10 April

    PSG 3-1 Aston Villa

    Unai Emery was quick to issue a rallying cry to Aston Villa supporters, should they have needed it.

    And full-back Matty Cash gave an insight into the Spaniard's post-match team-talk after Nuno Mendes' late third goal at Parc des Princes gave Paris St-Germain the edge in their Champions League quarter-final tie.

    "The manager spoke in there and he said 'it is only half-time'," Cash told BBC Radio 5 Live.

    "At home we are really strong. We are more than capable to score two or three goals at home."

    Matty Cash in action at Parc des PrincesImage source, Getty Images
  19. get involved

    Get Involved - can Villa battle back to beat PSG?published at 07:39 British Summer Time 10 April

    #bbcfootball, via WhatsApp on 03301231826 or text 81111 (UK only, standard message rates apply)

    We've gone further in the Champions League than we dreamed possible. For context we could beat PSG 2-0 at Villa Park taking them to extra time at which point the fact they've got the weekend off comes into play. Would be the result of the century if we turned it around though.

    David

    No shame in losing to that PSG side, easily the toughest opponent the team has faced this season. There's a slim chance at Villa Park next week but even if it goes the way everyone expects, they're well positioned in the league and have another chance at silverware with the FA Cup. Up the Villa!

    Matt, Birmingham

  20. Why not just go for it? - Rogerspublished at 07:36 British Summer Time 10 April

    PSG 3-1 Aston Villa

    Morgan RogersImage source, Getty Images

    Goalscorer Morgan Rogers certainly has faith in his team-mates' ability to harness the power of Villa Park when Ligue 1 champions Paris St-Germain visit for the return leg next Tuesday.

    "There's loads of belief in the changing room," he told TNT Sports.

    "We have nothing to lose, nobody thought we'd win the tie in the first place. Why not just go for it?"