'Why?' - ex-Aston Villa star slams Unai Emery for key decision after Champions League exit

He may not have found the net on the night, but it’s hard to deny that Marcus Rashford was one of Aston Villa’s standout performer in the early stages of the second half as Unai Emery’s men almost completed one of the great comebacks of Champions League history.

The Manchester United loanee, who seemed to be on a downwards trajectory, has proven his doubters wrong in a Villa shirt and looked a rejuvenated version of himself on Champions League quarter-final night by tormenting the PSG full-backs with a series of tricks, runs in behind and pinpoint crosses into the opposition box.

He was involved in almost everything good about Villa’s attacking play and registered a crucial assist to help his side go 3-2 up at Villa Park after a disastrous opening half hour for the team.

Rashford has history against PSG after scoring a last minute winning penalty against them in 2019, and almost repeated the trick six years on with a fine strike from distance which was expertly saved by Gianluigi Donnarumma minutes later before surprisingly being replaced by Ollie Watkins.

Former Aston Villa star slams Unai Emery for Rashford decision

Ex- Villa defender Stephen Warnock saaid he was left bewildered by the decision to take Rashford off the pitch: “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 added, on BBC Radio 5 Live: “For me, he was man of the match for Villa."

Warnock echoed this view and added: I don't know what Unai Emery saw, with the way Marcus Rashford was playing, he got it wrong. It felt like the tempo dropped when he made that substitution. You need a goal - why are you taking a striker off?" Dublin added: "Marcus Rashford is on fire tonight. You don't want to take him off."

Unai Emery praises Marcus Rashford performance

Marcus Rashford has contributed five assists across all competitions since joining Villa. No Premier League player has managed more since his Villa debut.

Furthermore, 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) during the contest against PSG. Week by week, he looks to be getting closer to convincing Villa that they should spend the £40m to make his loan switch permanent.

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."

Rashford will look to keep his strong form going when he takes on Newcastle United at the weekend in a game in the context of European qualification. The England international boasts a fine record of five goals and four assists in 14 games against the Magpies, with the most recent coming in the 2023 Carabao Cup final win at Wembley.

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