Aston Villa coach Unai Emery insisted that he still thought that his team can take over the Saint-Germain in Paris and reach the semi-finals of the Champions League despite a 3-1 defeat in the first leg of their last draw on Wednesday. Villa took the lead in the first half in Paris through Morgan Rogers only so that the hosts turn their heads thanks to superb strikes of Dreure Doue and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia on each side of the interval. And a nuno effort in time of time which gives the PSG a two -way cushion to take at Villa Park for the return seems to leave the side of Emery with a huge task to turn the tie.
“At 2-1, we thought of playing to win in the next match, and at 3-1, it’s still the same thing,” said Emery.
“But we are here and appreciate it, and I am very proud of the players. We competed fantastically and we were about to get a good result.
“At the end, with this objective, it is even more or less the same.
“Villa Park is our house, and I hope we will be stronger. But of course, they are always favorites. They have shown their power and their individual quality.”
Villa arrived in the French capital on a sequence of seven consecutive victories in all the competitions that again increased their chances of qualifying for the Champions League next season and took them to the FA Cup semi-finals.
However, it will probably now take a special performance in Birmingham next Tuesday to continue their current race in the Champions League.
“I am not happy but I am satisfied with the performance of the team. It is special for us to be in Paris and to play a quarter -final of the Champions League,” added Emery.
“The return match will be just as difficult at 3-1 as to 2-1. We have to win.”
Exceptional objectives
Meanwhile, Emery’s opposite number, Luis Enrique, expressed his pleasure in the performance of his team when he pointed out that PSG would not have stayed back and would not “speculate” next Tuesday.
“The match had a bit of everything, but we checked it,” said the former Barcelona coach.
“It is always difficult to attack a team that sits in an average and low block and they have marked in transition from almost the first time they have entered our box.
“But then,” from “obtained the equalizer and again in the second half, I thought we are worth scoring more goals and winning the match. The third goal at the end was the final touch.”
The quality of the PSG objectives was exceptional, with the wonderful strike from Doue for the equalizer probably surmounted by the remarkable individual effort by Kvaratskhelia.
Mendes then bypassed Emiliano Martinez to do so 3-1 after a superb Col Ousmane Dembele, capping the victory of PSG in a match which allowed them to take advantage of 68% possession and 30 attempts to the goal of the eight of villa.
“I think the last minute goal reflects, or award, which we did in the 90 minutes,” said Luis Enrique, who won the Champions League with Barcelona in 2015.
“Our goal in Birmingham is clear, to try to win the game. We do not know how to speculate, nor sit down and defend deeply.
“We will try to have the ball and attack more than the opposition. I have no doubt that it will be more difficult there, but that’s what we will try to do.”
PSG will again have the skipper Marquinhos to line up in the central defense in the return after having removed the first leg because of the suspension.
The Parisians, who finished the French title last Saturday, now have a free weekend to prepare for the return match after the postponement of their planned Ligue 1 match in Nantes.
Villa, on the other hand, has to go to Southampton in the Premier League service on Saturday.
(This story has not been published by NDTV staff and is automatically generated from a unionized flow.)
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