Aston Villa’s impressive dominance has propelled them to the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals, marking a remarkable achievement for the club. However, they now face a mammoth challenge against French giants PSG, whose star-studded lineup will test Villa’s resilience and quality on the biggest stage.
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00:00Aston Villa's return to the Champions League is a testament to their remarkable resurgence
00:07in European football. After years of steady progress, they've reached the quarter-final
00:13stage where a massive challenge awaits in the form of Paris Saint-Germain. It's a true
00:19test of how far they've come under Unai Emre as they take on one of Europe's most dominant
00:25sides. Villa's journey so far has been filled with memorable moments, but can they pull
00:31off a historic upset against PSG and keep their dream alive? To break us all down, I
00:38spoke to Charlie Haffenden of Birmingham World.
00:41Charlie, an incredible situation for Aston Villa as they find themselves in the Champions
00:47League at last eight. I mean, a lot of Villa fans will be pinching themselves seeing how
00:51far they've come in this trajectory. We've mentioned it so many times, the sort of changes,
00:56high expectations, the levels that Unai Emre and his team have set since he's come in and
01:01such a fast change as well. I mean, it could have all gone so wrong if goal-line technology
01:06worked a few years ago against Sheffield United. I mean, what would have happened in that situation?
01:12They find themselves in the last eight of the Champions League. I mean, let's look at the tie
01:17as a whole against Bruges. They went away and won and they're home and dominated in that second
01:21half especially. What was the difference over the two legs and how confident can they feel now?
01:28I mean, it's almost as if they've got nothing to lose in this last day.
01:33Yeah, I mean, reaching this point was never the expectation. Finishing the top eight of the league
01:36phase, that was incredible on its own. They would have absolutely taken a playoff spot before the
01:41campaign got underway. And then, of course, you might not even get through the playoffs to get
01:45to the last 16, let alone the last eight to set up a tie against Paris Saint-Germain.
01:49What an incredible achievement that was. But Bruges away last week, I think, was a little bit
01:54questionable, the performance, to be honest. Bruges easily could have gone and won that 3-4-0
01:59themselves. Had so many opportunities. Incredible goal-line clearance from Tyrone Ming saved Villa.
02:04And then just at the end, there was a bit of a flurry as Villa went on to win 3-1. Not the
02:08best performance, but getting the early goal from Leon Bailey certainly helped. And then the return
02:12leg, the pressure's off. You got a two-goal advantage at Villa Park. And then there's a
02:17sending off for their right-back Sabe just 16 minutes in when Rashford was taken down as the
02:21last man. What a pass that was from Emi Martinez to find Rashford over the top. And then you're
02:26thinking, okay, you got the two-goal advantage, the numerical advantage. Bruges were actually
02:31the better team before halftime, had so much of the ball, but Villa able to contain them. And then,
02:35well, that first 15 minutes, that second half just absolutely blew them away. Marco Asensio off the
02:40bench. An incredible performance from him. Another brace. He's now had three braces in five appearances
02:45at Villa Park. He's had seven goals in eight appearances in total. And that's actually
02:50matching his goals tally from his entire career at Paris Saint-Germain over two years. So it's
02:55just amazing the start that he's made and obviously getting Villa to that quarterfinals. He's played a
02:59very key role in doing that. Yeah. I mean, you know, Asensio's quality is clearly there. Do you
03:06feel maybe a few Villa fans, the younger generation possibly, he could be one of the best players
03:11they've ever seen in a Villa shirt? I think he's got to be up there. I mean, I remember when Coutinho
03:16joined and kind of the hype around him, the calibre, the reputation he had. The first six months on his
03:21loan, he did very well. Didn't quite go well after that point. They'll be hoping it's not a repeat of
03:27that because Asensio can be a quality player in this system. Playing as a number 10, I think he
03:31was wasted out on the right wing for PSG. And even then he was mainly coming off the bench because
03:36they got so many options there. But being a number 10, it just allows him to arrive late into
03:41the box, getting those goalscoring positions. And we've seen how clinical he can be. You know, we're
03:46not going to talk about transfers, but he was quite happy to talk about Asensio and how well he fits
03:50into his system. So I think if they can get that over the line, it'll be so important for them.
03:56And PSG, I mean, arguably the best team in Europe this season. They've, you know,
04:03obviously they win the French League most years, an incredible record in their own
04:08domestic situation. They haven't quite gone all the way in the Champions League.
04:12For Aston Villa, as I say, it seems they've got nothing to lose, but Unai Emery will certainly
04:17want to give them a real good account in this game. Absolutely. I think it is a bit of a free
04:22hit, this one, because you're not expecting to go and win. Of course, they're going to try their
04:25absolute best to go and do that and try and set up a semi-final. Just that squad is incredible,
04:30the form that they're in, and then they're doing well enough as it is before January,
04:34and then they go and bring in Varus Skellige from Napoli. I mean, do they really need him?
04:38It'll be a very, very tough task for Villa to beat them, but they'll try their best,
04:41and Emery is a proper man for Europe.