Aston Villa boss Unai Emery has commended his team’s performance after they suffered elimination from the UCL quarterfinals at the hands of French champions PSG.
The English side needed to overturn a 3-1 first leg deficit, following their defeat at the Parc des Princes last week.
Villa however conceded twice in the opening 27 minutes before staging a remarkable comeback to win 3-2 on the night, although they were eventually eliminated by the Parisiens who held on to reach the semifinals.
PSG went 2-0 up on the night and 5-1 on aggregate through goals from Achraf Hakimi and Nuno Mendes, before the hosts pulled one back before halftime courtesy of a deflected Youri Tielemans strike.
“I am very proud of everything we did,””To get to this level is the best step forward to get to where I want to be at with Aston Villa”, Emery said.
“We competed well in the first leg, but not enough. We were even better today and close to coming back. The last step forward is still [missing], and this is the only [aspect] I want to [work on] for our process.”
John McGinn and Ezri Konsa both scored in the space of two second half minutes to complete the comeback on the night, although Villa needed one more goal to draw level on aggregate.
The English side ultimately fell short with several wasted chances as they bowed out of the competition on a high, with Emery insisting his team must qualify to play in the competition next season.
“The players showed capacity. We beat Bayern Munich and we won tonight, the players showed their capacity at this level, they are here because they deserve to be here and facing matches like today.
I want a club with same the challenges as I have – adding more quality players if we need it – so proud of these players, confident we will get our objectives until the last match we’ll face”, the former Sevilla boss added.
PSG advanced to the semifinals where they could go against another English side Arsenal, who have a 3-0 advantage over reigning champions Real Madrid into the second leg.
Unai Emery’s side will be back in action on Saturday when they host Newcastle United, with the battle for Champions League qualification on the line for both sides.
Olakitan is a young writer with a strong passion for sports, having gained experience with IndyPress and Nimelssa Press. His enthusiasm for sports inspired him to cover events both within his school and beyond. With a deep understanding of the game and a refined skillset, he brings sports coverage to a broad, global audience in a way that’s engaging and accessible.
