A grave error was made before kick-off of Aston Villa's crucial Champions League quarter-final second-leg clash with Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday evening.
Unai Emery's side went into the match 3-1 down from the first leg, but had hopes of reaching the last-four of the competition with the backing of their home fans after being second best in Paris.
The atmosphere was strong before kick-off, with a sold-out crowd proving to be vocal ahead of a fast start in Birmingham. But it wasn't a quick start in terms of those in control of the PA system.
After the teams made their way out to the pitch, they lined up in front of the main stand to prepare for the Champions League anthem to be played. Only, it didn't.
Instead, the Europa League anthem played - a competition that Villa haven't participated in for nearly 15 years, last featuring in the 2010-11 season.
Both sides stood awkwardly as the wrong competition's music played, while the likes of Vitinha appeared to share a joke with his team-mates, and the likes of Youri Tielemans and Ezri Konsa struggled to hold in their laughter before the handshakes began without the anthem making an appearance.
'Someone has miscued the Champions League anthem,' Amazon Prime commentator Jon Champion said as the music played. 'It's not what we have come to expect.'
He later added: 'Better late than never' after the right anthem did eventually play.
Fans, meanwhile, weren't afraid to make their displeasure known as they booed the second-tier European competition.
Villa fans had a large tifo on show before the game, which read: 'This is Villa Park,' accompanied by two lions.
Emery's men were one of just two English sides left in the competition, essentially hoping to meet Arsenal in the semi-finals after the Gunners beat Real Madrid 3-0 in their first leg last week.
But Villa got off to the worst start when Achraf Hakimi made it 4-1 on aggregate early on following an error from Emiliano Martinez.
Prince William watched on, having impressed last week when speaking to TNT Sports to give some analysis pre-game. He cut a disappointed figure in the crowd as the tie ran out of reach early on.
Nuno Mendes soon seemingly put the tie to bed, scoring his second goal of the tie to make it 5-1 and threaten a brutal night for the club, but Tielemans did net before the break.
Villa were given brief hope when club captain John McGinn made it 2-2 on the night just after half-time, and Ezri Konsa soon cut the deficit to one. Try as they did, though, they were unable to find the equalising goal and ultimately exited the competition, losing 5-4 on aggregate.
Unai Emery's side went into the match 3-1 down from the first leg, but had hopes of reaching the last-four of the competition with the backing of their home fans after being second best in Paris.
The atmosphere was strong before kick-off, with a sold-out crowd proving to be vocal ahead of a fast start in Birmingham. But it wasn't a quick start in terms of those in control of the PA system.
After the teams made their way out to the pitch, they lined up in front of the main stand to prepare for the Champions League anthem to be played. Only, it didn't.
Instead, the Europa League anthem played - a competition that Villa haven't participated in for nearly 15 years, last featuring in the 2010-11 season.
Both sides stood awkwardly as the wrong competition's music played, while the likes of Vitinha appeared to share a joke with his team-mates, and the likes of Youri Tielemans and Ezri Konsa struggled to hold in their laughter before the handshakes began without the anthem making an appearance.
'Someone has miscued the Champions League anthem,' Amazon Prime commentator Jon Champion said as the music played. 'It's not what we have come to expect.'
He later added: 'Better late than never' after the right anthem did eventually play.
Fans, meanwhile, weren't afraid to make their displeasure known as they booed the second-tier European competition.
Villa fans had a large tifo on show before the game, which read: 'This is Villa Park,' accompanied by two lions.
Emery's men were one of just two English sides left in the competition, essentially hoping to meet Arsenal in the semi-finals after the Gunners beat Real Madrid 3-0 in their first leg last week.
But Villa got off to the worst start when Achraf Hakimi made it 4-1 on aggregate early on following an error from Emiliano Martinez.
Prince William watched on, having impressed last week when speaking to TNT Sports to give some analysis pre-game. He cut a disappointed figure in the crowd as the tie ran out of reach early on.
Nuno Mendes soon seemingly put the tie to bed, scoring his second goal of the tie to make it 5-1 and threaten a brutal night for the club, but Tielemans did net before the break.
Villa were given brief hope when club captain John McGinn made it 2-2 on the night just after half-time, and Ezri Konsa soon cut the deficit to one. Try as they did, though, they were unable to find the equalising goal and ultimately exited the competition, losing 5-4 on aggregate.
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00:00The atmosphere was strong before kickoff, with a sold-out crowd proving to be vocal ahead of a
00:10fast start in Birmingham. But it wasn't a quick start in terms of those in control of the PA system.
00:16After the teams made their way out to the pitch, they lined up in front of the main
00:20stand to prepare for the Champions League anthem to be played.
00:30Both sides stood awkwardly as the wrong competition's music played, while the likes of Vitinha appeared to share a joke with his teammates, and the likes of Yuri Tillmans and Ezri Kansa struggled to hold in their laughter before the handshakes began without the anthem making an appearance.
00:54Someone has miscued the Champions League anthem, Amazon Prime commentator John Champion said as the music played.
01:01It's not what we have come to expect.
01:04He later added, better late than never after the right anthem did eventually play.
01:09Fans, meanwhile, weren't afraid to make their displeasure known as they booed the second-tier European competition.
01:16Villa fans had a large typho on show before the game, which read, this is Villa Park, accompanied by two lions.
01:24We still had a large typho on show, but already inspired by one of the giants.
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