Aston Villa face an uphill battle to reach the Champions League semi-finals after falling 3-1 to Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday night.
Unai Emery’s side weathered early pressure in Paris, with Ousmane Dembele and Vitinha threatening for the Ligue 1 champions.
Despite being pinned back, Villa struck first in the 35th minute when Morgan Rogers finished off a sweeping counter-attack, tapping in from a well-timed Youri Tielemans pass.
But Villa’s lead was short-lived. After nearly gifting Desire Doue a goal with a fumble, Emiliano Martinez was beaten minutes later by the 19-year-old’s thunderous strike that crashed in off the crossbar.
PSG struck again early in the second half. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia danced past substitute Axel Disasi and rifled a sensational finish beyond Martinez to put the hosts ahead.
Villa struggled to retain possession under PSG’s relentless press. Martinez kept them in contention, denying Achraf Hakimi with a fine save and watching gratefully as the defender’s goal was ruled out for offside.
However, their resistance finally broke again in stoppage time. Nuno Mendes capped the evening with a stunning long-range strike, giving PSG a two-goal cushion to take into the second leg at Villa Park.
