Two ‘unbelievable’ players score 9/10 but one ‘awful’ 4/10 - Aston Villa player ratings vs PSG

Aston Villa’s remarkable UEFA Champions League campaign has come to an end at the quarter-final stage despite an incredible 3-2 comeback victory over Paris Saint-Germain at Villa Park.

Unai Emery’s side went 2-0 down on the night and 5-1 behind on aggregate following goals from Achraf Hakimi and Nuno Mendes in the first half an hour but incredibly fired themselves back into the tie with goals from Youri Tielemans, John McGinn and Ezri Konsa. The chances flowed and there were some real near misses but Gianluigi Donnarumma came to PSG’s rescue and the Parisiens made good use of last week’s 3-1 win at the Parc des Princes, holding on for a 5-4 aggregate win to progress to the semi-finals.

Villa came out of the blocks strongly in the hope of scoring the first goal, but it was PSG who drew first blood as Hakimi sucked the life out of the home support with a composed finish, rounding off a devastating counter-attack. Bradley Barcola skinned Matty Cash down PSG’s left and drilled in an awkward low cross that Emiliano Martinez failed to deal with, parrying straight into the path of Hakimi who smashed the ball home. Pau Torres got a little in Martinez’s way, you could argue, but the goalkeeper still should’ve done better.

Mendes then thrust a dagger in Villa hearts by doubling PSG’s lead in the 27th minute, oozing confidence to curl the ball into the net off the left post. Villa gave away possession in the attacking third and PSG were up in the opposite box within just five passes, Ousmane Dembele sprinting at Pau Torres and squaring to Mendes, who made no mistake from 15 yards.

Tielemans breathed some belief back into Villa Park in the 34th minute as he scored a deflected goal to reduce the arrears, making it 2-1 on the night and 5-2 on aggregate. There was some excellent link-up play on the edge of the box between Marcus Rashford and John McGinn before Tielemans peeled away in the box, firing into the net via Willian Pacho’s outstretched leg.

The roof nearly lifted off the stadium at the start of the second period as Villa scored two quickfire goals to completely shift the momentum of the tie. Super McGinn was first as he dribbled from his own half and struck ambitiously from 25 yards, seeing the ball deflect off Pacho and over Donnarumma.

Ezri Konsa then fired Villa 3-2 ahead on the night and 5-4 behind on aggregate, converting emphatically from a Rashford cutback. It was excellent work from Rashford as he recycled possession on the right and beat two defenders to reach the byline before picking out Konsa.

Rashford had two great chances before the goals as Donnarumma denied the striker at point-blank range for the first and made a fingertip save to deny a curled shot for the second. There were more opportunities after the goals, too, as Donnarumma somehow tipped a looping Tielemans header over the crossbar and Marco Asensio, off the bench, sprinted clean through after a glorious long-range pass from Pau but shot straight at Donnarumma.

PSG eventually steadied themselves after Villa’s flurry and were able to restrict the hosts from having many further openings, Ian Maatsen’s blocked volley the closest to a dramatic late equaliser. There was an uproar about the mere three minutes of stoppage time - and a member of Villa’s backroom staff received a yellow card for his complaints - but the visitors didn’t care as they maintained their narrow lead to progress.

Aston Villa player ratings vs PSG

Without further ado, here’s how Birmingham World reporter Charlie Haffenden rated the Villa players out of 10 in a valiant win - yet painful defeat - against PSG.

Emiliano Martinez - Should’ve done better for Hakimi’s early opener as he parried the ball straight to the goalscorer, an awful error. Couldn’t do a great deal about Mendes’ accurate strike. Spared his blushes as Dembele’s perfect dink was flagged offside. Made two great saves to deny Dembele and one from Doue to in the second half to boost his rating. 5

Matty Cash - Played Dembele onside ahead of Mendes’ goal and was exposed three or four times in the opening 20 minutes by Barcola. Really sured up in the second half, though, as he made four tackles to keep Kvaratskhelia quiet. 6

Ezri Konsa - Scored Villa’s third goal with a striker’s finish, instinctively curling into the bottom right corner. Won his fair share of tackles and aerials at the other end. 8

Pau Torres - At fault for Hakimi’s goal as he was neither here nor there to clear Barcola’s cross, instead getting in Martinez’s way. Then wasn’t able to stop Dembele from squaring for Mendes’ goal and gave away the ball cheaply twice to allow counter-attacks. Really struggled to deal with Dembele’s pace and skill all night, really, as he was dribbled past on several occasions. Went close to scoring at the other end with a powerful strike, at least, but was denied by Donnarumma at the near post. Claims the assist for McGinn’s goal but can’t take any credit for it. 4

Lucas Digne (off 76’) - Wasn’t particularly at fault for either of PSG’s goals but didn’t contribute anything of note defensively, either. Judged one pressured header back to Martinez to perfection. Unable to threaten with crosses into the box. 6

Boubacar Kamara - Did brilliantly defensively when PSG were playing in front of him as he made several important tackles. A little exposed to counter-attacks, but as was everyone in claret and blue. 7

Amadou Onana (off 67’) Battled hard to try and break up the play in the middle of the park and used his physicality to shield the ball on a few occasions. Gave the ball away cheaply two or three times, though. 6

John McGinn (off 66’) - Scored a brilliant long-ranger - albeit deflected - to make it 2-2 on the night after an outstanding dribble. Assisted Tielemans’ goal with a composed lay-off in the first half. Deserved the goal involvements as he ran his socks off, throwing himself into every possible challenge and taking one painful elbow to the face from Marquinhos. Saw one header that was just behind him go wide. Booked for a late tackle on Kvaratskhelia. 9*

Youri Tielemans (off 87’) - Played in a more advanced role than usual and benefited as he scored in the first half to give Villa a glimmer of hope, breaking into space and firing in via a heavy deflection. Split the PSG defence with two or three pinpoint passes in the second half. 8

Morgan Rogers - Had a fair amount of joy on the right wing as he progressed into the box regularly with determined and powerful dribbles. Fired narrowly wide with a first half curler. 7

Marcus Rashford (off 76’) - Assisted Konsa’s strike with an incredible dribble and perfect cutback – a deserved goal involvement as he looked so dangerous every time he dribbled at Marquinhos and Pacho and played a key role in creating space for his teammates. Denied a great goal by a brilliant Donnarumma save at the start of the second half. Involved in Tielemans’ goal as he held up the ball well on the edge of the box. 9

Marco Asensio (on 66’) - Got in some great positions but missed his one big chance - just after coming on - as he fired straight at Donnarumma’s legs. 6

Jacob Ramsey (on 67’) - Came on to inject some fresh energy into Villa’s attacks but was unable to make the desired impact. 6