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Opinion
Aston Villa fans say Unai Emery made two big mistakes in Champions League exit to Paris Saint-Germain
Aston Villa helped serve up one of the best Champions League matches in recent years with a valiant effort against Paris Saint-Germain in Tuesday night’s quarter-final second leg.
The Villans hosted PSG at Villa Park hoping to bounce back from their 3-1 first-leg defeat, but things went wrong for Unai Emery’s side early on.
Achraf Hakimi and Nuno Mendes scored in the opening half-hour to put PSG 5-1 up on aggregate, seemingly condemning Villa to a long and painful night.
However, Youri Tielemans gave Villa hope with a 34th-minute goal before quickfire efforts from John McGinn and Ezri Konsa put the Villans within a goal of levelling the tie.
However, the Villans fell just short, with PSG going through to the Champions League semi-finals 5-4 on aggregate despite the claret-and-blue side winning 3-2 on the night.
While Villa fans were overall proud with their team’s efforts, some felt Emery made two notable mistakes in the match.
Aston Villa fans unhappy with John McGinn and Marcus Rashford substitutions against PSG
A number of Villa fans felt Emery should not have taken off Marcus Rashford and McGinn, both of whom were having superb games.
McGinn, who was on a yellow card, came off in the 66th minute, with Marco Asensio taking his place, while Rashford was replaced by Ollie Watkins 10 minutes later.
“Can’t believe he took McGinn off, best player on the pitch for me,” one fan wrote on X, while another one said: “Taking out McGinn was a huge mistake.”
Another fan wrote: “Haven’t kicked the ball since McGinn got taken off.”
There was also criticism of Rashford’s substitution, with one fan writing: “Taking Rashford off was stupid, Rogers had a mare all game and Rashford was dominating the right side.”
Another fan said: “Valiant effort from the boys. Had the chances to draw it level, ultimately 5 goals was a hurdle too far.
“What if is Rashford, I get the sub but in hindsight you keep him on.”
Another said: “Rashford was still looking fresh when he came off while Rogers could barely run.
“Why would you take a player off who is clearly having a great half for someone who was barely involved?”
How John McGinn and Marcus Rashford fared against PSG
McGinn has made a name for himself as a tireless, high-energy player and those traits came to the fore against PSG on Tuesday night.
The Scotland international never stopped running for his team, teed Tielemans up for the opener, and his marauding run and goal helped put Villa level on the night.
Meanwhile, Rashford grew into the game – his heavy touch early on helped provide the springboard for PSG’s opener, but he made amends.
His assist for Villa’s third was outstanding, beating two players to create the goal for Konsa.
Rashford also assisted the defender later on for what should’ve been the equaliser in the tie, and he tested Gianluigi Donnarumma with an great effort of his own.
Villa are next in action on Saturday evening when they host Newcastle United in the Premier League.
With sides are vying for Champions League qualification, the Villans need to regroup quickly after their heroics against PSG.