Aston Villa heroes have nothing to be ashamed of as PSG drama ends in heartbreak

They know a thing or two about European heroes at Villa Park and for a gloriously chaotic short spell of time on a cold April night, this generation of players took their place among them. Yes, they are out. And yes, over two legs, .

But what tells you everything about a team that, on aggregate, trailed by FOUR GOALS after half an hour of this second leg, is that for all their brilliance, the hero for was a big goalkeeper. The hero for PSG was .

He conceded three but made a string of world-class stops to deny Villa the most remarkable of comebacks. And had it been completed, it really would have been astonishing.

Because for all their spirit and class there was still a fair bit to fault about Villa’s two performances against Luis Enrique’s side, not being able to put his gloves where his mouth is being one of them. And Unai Emery cannot be spared scrutiny, having decided not to start with Ollie Watkins.

For the 15 minutes before Martinez turned Bradley Barcola’s cross into a gift for Achraf Hakimi, Villa had made a lively start but Marcus Rashford was twice unable to select the right option. But whatever Emery’s choices had been, Villa would always have been vulnerable to the counter-attack against a team as stylish and as rapid as this.

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This is a team that is Eurostar-quick, every position filled by a speedster. As soon as Ousmane Dembele sprinted down the right flank just before the half-hour mark, a second PSG goal looked inevitable.

His pass to Nuno Mendes was precise and the Portuguese defender’s finish was even more so, clipping the inside of the post before seeming to put PSG out of sight. It tells you all you need to know that those opening two goals were scored by the Paris full-backs, not that anyone thought this side would sit back on the advantage they brought to the Midlands.

To their great credit, though, not one Villa player allowed his head to drop. And Youri Tielemans had already made a reasonable, if unsuccessful, request for a penalty before he brought Prince William and the throng to their feet with a deflected finish after good work from John McGinn.

It gave Emery something to work on at half-time and the home support a sliver of optimism. Another sliver of optimism should have come from some unusual uncertainty in PSG’s defensive ranks. And sure enough, Villa were level on the night thanks to a hit from McGinn that might have taken a faint diversion off Willian Pacho but was a fine strike all the same.

Quite frankly, PSG were utterly rattled and, astonishingly, Villa were ahead in this tumultuous second leg before the hour mark when Rashford produced a sumptuous assist for Ezri Konsa, whose composed finish turned Villa Park cacophonous.

The stopwatch had not yet reached the hour mark and Villa could have been level on aggregate but Donnarumma produced one of those stellar stops to deny Tielemans. Another came minutes later but as good a save as it was, you would have expected substitute Marco Asensio to convert his one-on-one opportunity.

Alas, that proved to be Villa’s last clear chance to take the tie to extra-time and when Jose Maria Sanchez blew the final whistle, Villa players collapsed to the turf. But they had nothing to be ashamed of … for a few fantastic minutes, they were heroes.

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