Heroic Villa Comeback Falls Just Short
against PSG

Birmingham, 16 Apr (ONA) — Aston
Villa threatened to pull off a stunning comeback against Paris St-Germain (PSG)
before going out of the UEFA Champions League (UCL) on a dramatic night at
Villa Park.

Villa were attempting to overturn a
3-1 deficit to reach the semi-final but their hopes looked in tatters when they
were two goals down inside the first half-hour, BBC sports reported.

Achraf Hakimi cashed in on Villa
keeper Emiliano Martinez’s mistake to put PSG ahead, then Nuno Mendes doubled
the French side’s lead to leave Villa needing to score at least four goals.

In a thunderous Villa Park
atmosphere, Unai Emery’s team refused to yield and launched a magnificent
response to put this hugely talented PSG side on the rack.

Youri Tielemans pulled one back
after 34 minutes with a deflected shot before a second half of pure theatre
unfolded in front a frenzied Villa Park.

Villa struck twice in two minutes to
spark hopes of a remarkable revival, John McGinn scoring from 20 yards after 55
minutes before defender Ezri Konsa put them ahead on the night after fantastic
work by Marcus Rashford.

And, as Villa’s belief grew, it took
three crucial saves from PSG keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma to stop them drawing
level in the tie.

He dived high to his left to
magnificently claw away Rashford’s rising drive, then somehow turned out
Tielemans’ header before saving at the feet of substitute Marco Asensio.

PSG managed to regain a measure of
composure to hold on and will meet Arsenal or Real Madrid in the semi-final.

— Ends/Khalid