Heroes & Villains, the Aston Villa fanzine
Heroes & Villains => Match Threads & Player Ratings => Topic started by: PeterWithesShin on April 09, 2025, 09:52:55 PM
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I feel that 3rd goal has done it.
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Na.
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Injury time goal has done for us
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At worst I would've taken 2-0 so this is the same.
It's not over.
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At one goal down you don’t have to kill yourself to get the equaliser. At 2 down you do. Fear they’ll score at Villa.
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3rd goal ends it. Shame, but they are obviously a level up.
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Sometimes you just lose to a better team with unlimited resource who who play near their very best.
No disgrace but can't see us coming back from that.
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At worst I would've taken 2-0 so this is the same.
It's not over.
Exactly this, 3:1 not ideal but not disastrous
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Easily the best team we've played all season, it's not over but that third goal hurts.
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It isn’t over but the third so late is such a shame as 2-1 would have been a scoreline I’d have taken from the off.
3-1 not so much.
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It'll be just like the time PSG fucked up a 4-0 first leg lead.
If anything, we could have let them have another one.
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I have never been so embarrassed by a UK commentary than that. Fuck right off you absolute bunch of ******.
An absolute shit show.
They are a good aide but the hyperbole from Ally McCunt and co… fuck sake.
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Sometimes you've gotta hold up your hands and say the opposition were the better team.
3 outstanding goals.
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2-0, extra time, and then let the man do what he does.
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Yeh. They’re good at football. Not completely over but that 3rd is a heart breaker.
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I fear the worst but we aren't out of it. But they scored three outstanding goals. Ours wasn't bad though either.
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Hardly laid a glove on them.
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They were very very good it has to be said.
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PSG are some of the biggest bottle-jobs in Champions League history.
Let's get the first goal at VP and go from there.
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Oh well. No shame losing to a very, very good team away from home. Not sure there's a side in Europe that could have done much better.
It's not over but that third goal has probably fucked us.
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They are a brilliant team. We stood a chance at 2-1.
We switched off for their 3rd I thought
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Outclassed if we are being honest .
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Last goal a pisser. The screeches of orgasmic delight from the commentary team was sick making!
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Paris St-Germain 2-1 Aston Villa
Conor McNamara
Commentator on BBC Radio 5 Live
No Premier League team have conceded more goals in stoppage team this season than Aston Villa.
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Memories of Tranmere
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I have never been so embarrassed by a UK commentary than that. Fuck right off you absolute bunch of ******.
An absolute shit show.
They are a good aide but the hyperbole from Ally McCunt and co… fuck sake.
I muted it second half, Amazon Prime will be a lot better next week.
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Really impressed with how we dug in considering the near constant battering we took. That third goal was a real kick in the teeth which has likely sealed the deal
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Stop throwing the towel in please. Really don't understand it.
I've seen Leicester win the PL, Greece win the Euros, Arsenal blow a 4-0 lead, PSG blow a 4 goal lead, Brazil lose 7-1 at home in a World Cup... But we can't beat PSG 2-0 at home?
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Probably a fair result on the balance of play. Get an early goal, Villa Park will be rocking, and who knows what might happen.
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That third goal was a killer but so proud of the team.
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Honestly, they are not a great team. They scored 2 world class goals and got a late sucker punch goal.
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It's not defeatest to say that we won't win the second leg by three clear goals. They're too good and I can't see them not scoring. We're not winning 4-1, 5-2, or whatever.
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They were very very good it has to be said.
Yep their passing accuracy is something else.
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Shame, a real gutter, 2-1 and I think everyone would still think we had a chance, less so at 3-1.But they are a very good team and I'm still looking forward to next week.
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Third goal killed the tie and honestly I can't be angry about it. PSG look the real deal and it's a credit that we hung in there for as long and as well as we did.
Having to play a second leg is going to be really tough and I just hope it doesn't ruin our league and FA cup campaigns
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It's not defeatest to say that we won't win the second leg by three clear goals. They're too good and I can't see them not scoring. We're not winning 4-1, 5-2, or whatever.
Let’s not bother then.
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At worst I would've taken 2-0 so this is the same.
It's not over.
Exactly this, 3:1 not ideal but not disastrous
They don't travel well, score early we are still in it
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I feared these much more than Real Madrid and Arsenal. These are a quality outfit now and I just don't see us outscoring them by 2 goals.
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They don't travel well
[/quote]
Based on?
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It’s not impossible but it’d be a miracle to turn this round. We open up against them and they’ll definitely score.
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That 3rd goal feels like a killer. To be honest, they are a top side and we could have been on the end of the kind of scoreline Dortmund were at Barcelona tonight. The fact that it wasn't like that was because we defended pretty well for a lot of the game.
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If it had been 3-0 and we scored in the last minute, it would be a very different feeling.
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Still in it. Just about.
I'd have been delighted with 2-1. What's another goal?
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Hindsight. But maybe we should have gone toe to toe and attacked rather than play deep. Because they look pretty weak on the defensive. That said they are bloody good.
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We are world class at appreciating the opposition. Fuck sake. 2-0 down at half time. Rio and co give us zero chance.
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2-0 down. That’s not easy but not impossible. We have to believe.
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Tranmere '94 were a better side than PSG, we can do it! Shit or bust at VP 😎
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No problem with the selection or tactics. Feel we could have been a bit calmer in possession at times. Great goal by us.
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It's not defeatest to say that we won't win the second leg by three clear goals. They're too good and I can't see them not scoring. We're not winning 4-1, 5-2, or whatever.
Yes it is.
They could have a man sent off early? Could get injuries? Or we could just play a very good game. Of all the unlikely shit that can happen in football, Villa winning 2 or 3-0 at home is nowhere near the top of that list.
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So, reality check, we was always going to come up against somebody as good as this at the latter stage of the competition, Villa are still building and aspiring to get to where the likes of PSG are, we are 2-0 down, its going to take everything and more to get back into this next week but it could be done, it will need the players to be right at there most tenacious, and it will need the Villa park faithful to make it as uncomfortable as possible for PSG.
We have a manager that can work that, we have players that can push that forward and we have one of the best crowds in the world, to really make this difficult, its not quite over yet.
On another side to this, Arsenal play one way, cannon fodder for these...
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They are a top side but we will have a packed VP. The 3rd goal was a killer but an early goal and you never know.
They are very good though.
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I feared these much more than Real Madrid and Arsenal. These are a quality outfit now and I just don't see us outscoring them by 2 goals.
It's horses for courses at this stage and these just seemed like a team who could and would cause us problems more than probably all others, along with strangely Inter Milan.
No time to play
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I think the most disappointing part is when we had the ball we played beneath ourselves a lot of the time. I get that pressure and their press makes it hard but we are better than we showed on the ball. If there is to be any chance we have to be so much better when we have the ball in the next game.
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They were excellent tonight and the third goal has reduced our odds massively, BUT...
They play great football. They're a very good, confident side. But if we score first at a rocking Villa Park, with their history, the mind will start to do funny things. It isn't over. It's unlikely, but we're still in the tie.
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Attacking wise they are tremendous, but we showed a few times that defensively they are suspect. The question is will we punish them 2 more times then they will punish us.
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Third goal killed the tie and honestly I can't be angry about it. PSG look the real deal and it's a credit that we hung in there for as long and as well as we did.
Having to play a second leg is going to be really tough and I just hope it doesn't ruin our league and FA cup campaigns
This
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I dont know whats going to be funnier - us knocking PSG out, or Real knocking Arse out.
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This isn't Tranmere though, they were a 2nd division side. This is possibly the best side in Europe that just schooled us like no one has for a long time.
Shots 29 v 7
Touches in oppositon box 58 v 9
We have a chance but I don't think we can do it simply because they are better than us.
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We have to chase the game...we commit going forward, theybwill pick us off.
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Tranmere '94 were a better side than PSG, we can do it! Shit or bust at VP 😎
Yes Pat Nevin was much better than that Dembele fellow
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We are world class at appreciating the opposition. Fuck sake. 2-0 down at half time. Rio and co give us zero chance.
Their love in for PSG was awful.
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Aaaargh! it so frustrating, going from having a toe in the tie to game over in the last minute .
We’ve still got a long way to go to be competitive at this level.
It’s over to finishing top 5 and the cup (not bad consolation fingers crossed)
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They were excellent tonight and the third goal has reduced our odds, massively BUT...
They play great football. They're a very good, confident side. But if we score first at a rocking Villa Park, with their history, the mind will start to do funny things. It isn't over. It's unlikely, but we're still in the tie.
Yep. All of the above.
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They didn't tire, unlike everyone else we play. Testament to the pathetic weakness of Ligue 1 and the fact that they have fewer matches to play.
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Walking up the steps of the Holte still in the tie? It'll do for me.
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If we score early at VP then we have a chance.
Need to shore up the right-hand side, Disasi and Rogers were no match for their talented wide players.
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Struggling to be annoyed. They’re one of the best teams I’ve seen us play in my life.
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Thought we were a bit too passive and didn't use the ball enough when we had it . I don't see us coming back from the killer goal . Shame but we need to learn from this . L
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They're proven bottlers. Early goal at a rocking Villa Park? Relax guys we've got this.
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They might be the best team I’ve seen us play.
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Struggling to be annoyed. They’re one of the best teams I’ve seen us play in my life.
Yeah similar. I mean that’s exactly what they did to Liverpool and if anything they created better chances and Allison was ridiculous. But their level is insane.
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I’m proud of the team tonight. There’s no question that these are the best team left in the competition but it took three worldies to beat us and we’ve proven that we can score against them. It’s gonna be very difficult but we can do it
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One thing I will say Ax at right back is not a good option.
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Lovely cuddly Villa fans throwing a pint at my head x
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A little gutted with the third goal (and they were chuffed by it) but we can still do it.
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It'll be just like the time PSG fucked up a 4-0 first leg lead.
If anything, we could have let them have another one.
Next week will be a week for the ages - we'll beat them by three, Dortmund will spank Barca 5-0 and Arsenal FanTV wil literally melt down as Real beat them 4-0. Inter will play out a boring 0-0.
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No shame in this outcome. We still have much to play for. Onwards and upwards!
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The only thing that annoyed me was how cheaply we gave possession away when not under particularly great pressure. Hope we stamp that out next week
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Let's face it if they play like that again it would be a miracle to turn this tie around. I don't think any team is beating them on that form. The only way we can get at them is to knock them out of there stride. If Unai can come up with a game plan to do that we might just might have a chance but it's a big big ask.
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Lovely cuddly Villa fans throwing a pint at my head x
Beer must have been shit?
Or lightweights on tour again?
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They were equally as good as, if not better than, the Juventus side we played in 1983
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One thing I will say Ax at right back is not a good option.
He was poor tonight. Kamara also.
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Will be interesting to see what sort of team we put out v 2016 Us on Sat. I would not be at all surprised if only Emi starts from tonight's line up
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They are clearly an excellent team. Probably the best team in the competition.
Only gripe I'd really have is Rashfords non attempt to win the ball which led to their second goal
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The only thing that annoyed me was how cheaply we gave possession away when not under particularly great pressure. Hope we stamp that out next week
Yep, that was annoying. Went for the first time pass too often. Get the fucking thing under control, was my mantra.
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They are clearly an excellent team. Probably the best team in the competition.
Only gripe I'd really have is Rashfords non attempt to win the ball which led to their second goal
That will be front page of the daily Mail tomorrow
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They are an exceptional side no doubt about that. We really had to dig deep tonight. They should have beaten Liverpool far easier than they eventually did.
But an early goal for us next week will make it very interesting.
All we can do is get behind the team and see what happens.
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Will be interesting to see what sort of team we put out v 2016 Us on Sat. I would not be at all surprised if only Emi starts from tonight's line up
We need to win that game though. That’s the challenge now.
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The only thing that annoyed me was how cheaply we gave possession away when not under particularly great pressure. Hope we stamp that out next week
Everyone one of our lot did it repeatedly. Also we barely won a second ball. They worked their arses off to get possession even when it looked like it was going for a PSG throw.
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I want us to go out with no pressure and all to gain. If we lose then so be it. I just don’t us losing not trying to win. Liverpool not too long ago battered Barcelona 4-0 having lost the first leg 3-0. We have to go out and play with the same attitude and intensity. And if we come up short it won’t be with any regrets.
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No shame in this outcome. We still have much to play for. Onwards and upwards!
We do indeed, in the worst case scenario and we do exit we utterly focus on the FA Cup and grabbing that 5th place, for me, as big as this game tonight, Newcastle, beat them and we are on the way, strange thing is before the Brighton game, never felt Brighton or Forest was insurmountable, it was when I looked at the fixtures on the run in the Newcastle game, that is the game we have to win.
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I’m annoyed. PSG were great. Best since Celta Vigo…
…However we really could have done with Doug, Diaby and Duran tonight, but we couldn’t because of random rules. Realistically, they’d still have won but talk about applying a handicap to, otherwise well run, clubs.
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The only thing that annoyed me was how cheaply we gave possession away when not under particularly great pressure. Hope we stamp that out next week
Everyone one of our lot did it repeatedly. Also we barely won a second ball. They worked their arses off to get possession even when it looked like it was going for a PSG throw.
We can't match them for quality, but I agrre. Their energy levels were higher too
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Fucking Hell - they were good, weren't they?
I was morosely mansplaining to Mrs Rodders that we'd now have to beat them by three at VP to go through, but found myself ending the sentence by saying, "which is entirely possible."
Isn't it? Didn't we?
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I admire all this, let’s get the first goal at VP stuff, I really do. But we ain’t beating this side next week. They were very, very good. And were just as good against Liverpool twice. I am proud of our performance though. Well done boys.
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An early goal next week would make it interesting but I think the 3rd PSG goal was a kicker. Let’s batter Southampton and think of Wembley as we don’t want this season to drift.
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We need to our old attack the Holte first half and blitz them routine next week.
Also, though they scored some worldies, what bothered me is we fell for every little trick or dummy they did hook line and sinker. But that is what experience at this level teaches.
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If we are to have any chance we are going to have to be much better on the ball that’s for certain. Onana also showed the way by disrupting them and taking them on.
I understood the approach we took, but we are going to have to get at them next week. I do hope the celebrations at the end are an indicator of complacency, that would help. Their effort levels on top of their accuracy are remarkable, if that effort dropped…
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Did ourselves no favours with the amount of times we gave the ball away. Disasi? I’d pay his taxi fare back to Chelsea.
They’re good but not unbeatable, early goal and calm heads and let’s see where we are next Tuesday with 60 on the clock.
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We defended well but we were far too passive. Apart from our goal, I can't think of any occasion where we won the ball or picked up the second ball. When we did get the ball we gave it away but it's a measure of how far we've come that we're playing one of the best sides in the world.
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Took us a while to get over the stage fright but everyone put in a fantastic shift. Except for Rashford.
We will still win this.
We are fantastic going forward and I've been waiting all season for us to go for the jugular from the start and keep up the intensity for the whole match. Next Tuesday, we have no choice, this is our chance. With a roaring Villa Park behind them and a licence to kill, I can see adrenaline bringing us over the line.
Yes, they are good but so are we. They will crumble under our pressure.
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Kvaratskhelia Is a peach of a footballer. 😍😍😍
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Will be interesting to see what sort of team we put out v 2016 Us on Sat. I would not be at all surprised if only Emi starts from tonight's line up
We need to win that game though. That’s the challenge now.
Oh I think we will. I think that we should still beat Soton with the eight outfield players on that bench plus Garcia and Malen starting. That is how strong our squad is now
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Kvaratskhelia Is a peach of a footballer. 😍😍😍
You could at least spell his name right.
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Looking at tonight, they should have probably scored 4 or 5. But they didn't, did they?
So onto Villa Park where they'll probably beat us. Won't they?
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I want us to go out with no pressure and all to gain. If we lose then so be it. I just don’t us losing not trying to win. Liverpool not too long ago battered Barcelona 4-0 having lost the first leg 3-0. We have to go out and play with the same attitude and intensity. And if we come up short it won’t be with any regrets.
100% my take on it
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Someone said before the game that this would be a real test of where we are and how far we still have to go, and unfortunately we're still a way off.
2-1 would have been a much better score to take to the second leg, obviously, but anything is possible. We'd need to play like we did against Bayern to even stand a chance though.
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They lost away to Arsenal 2-0 , away to Bayern 1-0 and at home to A Madrid 2-1, so it's not over.
Emery will have a plan but every player will need to give everything and the crowd too.
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They were equally as good as, if not better than, the Juventus side we played in 1983
I was about to write. I said to my mate the last team I saw this good was at this stage 42 years ago juventus but without the Galacticos.
You can always analyse every action and every goal. In this case they were just terrific. Fair play our boys must be shattered chasing them around all night.
Not over yet.
Another note..thier support was non stop from start 5o finish. Fair play to them
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Someone said before the game that this would be a real test of where we are and how far we still have to go, and unfortunately we're still a way off.
2-1 would have been a much better score to take to the second leg, obviously, but anything is possible. We'd need to play like we did against Bayern to even stand a chance though.
Did anyone really think we weren’t a way off the best team in the world?
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Third goal killed the tie and honestly I can't be angry about it. PSG look the real deal and it's a credit that we hung in there for as long and as well as we did.
Having to play a second leg is going to be really tough and I just hope it doesn't ruin our league and FA cup campaigns
This
What on earth does this mean?
We had to play a second leg anyway!
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Kvaratskhelia Is a peach of a footballer. 😍😍😍
You could at least spell his name right.
Sorry, კვარაცხელია
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The first goal next week is vital. If Villa score early it's 2-3 and it really is game on! Obviously if PSG score first, it's over.
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I think the most disappointing part is when we had the ball we played beneath ourselves a lot of the time. I get that pressure and their press makes it hard but we are better than we showed on the ball. If there is to be any chance we have to be so much better when we have the ball in the next game.
I thinks that a bit harsh, they just pressed us really well everywhere, which made any ball retention anywhere on the pitch really difficult. Difficult to see how we overcome this next week, without going at them, which leaves us exposed to the counter.
But if we get a goal in the first 15/20, Villa Park will be rocking and you really never know. It feels over but its not done yet.
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3 world class goals as well.
And ours was pretty good also.
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I admire all this, let’s get the first goal at VP stuff, I really do. But we ain’t beating this side next week. They were very, very good. And were just as good against Liverpool twice. I am proud of our performance though. Well done boys.
The point is teams are very, very good until the weight of history makes them very, very bad.
Football is a strange game, as is the mind. If we score first momentum, in all likelihood, will flip entirely. How many ridiculous Champions League comebacks have we seen? Liverpool - AC Milan? Who had the better team...by a fucking mile. What did one goal do to Cafu, Stam, Nesta and Maldini? Liverpool - Barcelona. Fucking Shaqiri and that Belgian striker I can't even remember the name of starting. Ajax 4-1 at the Bernabeu. Lucas Moura. Fucking La Remontada, anyone? And that's just off the top of my head.
It's two goals. We're at home. Score first. See how they react.
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I shall dish out plaudits to PSG after next Tuesday, the tie still has a way to go, could be even more in their favour but until we actually see that let's concentrate on our own lot. I'm sure the Manager will be thinking along those lines, there is no other way to approach it.
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They’re a good side, yes but fuck me some of the comments on here. 2-1 would’ve even better but 3-1 isn’t a tie killer.
Yes we’ll need to play well and win but we would’ve had to anyway. And we know on our day what we are capable of. 3-1 almost feels like a free hit in some way.
We are playing the very best in Europe, enjoy the ride and if we go out let’s go out having a crack.
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All I will say is remember - 1994 Tranmere 3 Aston Villa 1 we were given no chance 😉
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All I will say is remember - 1994 Tranmere 3 Aston Villa 1 we were given no chance 😉
We also have a bat shit goal keeper this time around.
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They lost away to Arsenal 2-0 , away to Bayern 1-0 and at home to A Madrid 2-1, so it's not over.
Emery will have a plan but every player will need to give everything and the crowd too.
They did, but they were playing nowhere near this level. We’ll need them to drop off and we’ll need to play out of our skins. It’s not impossible of course, but it’s going to take something remarkable.
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Thought they were brilliant as I thought they would be. Threats all over the pitch.
But there's no way I'm giving up on the team as there's always a chance.
So if anyone thinks its over, fill your boots, but I can't agree because so much can still happen.
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Our game plan was clearly to keep it tight - it very nearly worked really well - if we go out due to there 3 world class goals I can live with it. If they come to Villa park and play at that level again - I can live with it.
They were brilliant - the only time I have seen a team play better was when we beat Man City last season. They were that good.
Clearly its a long shot - but there's a chance:
- We can score against these - they dont look amazing defensively - we will clearly have to be more aggressive but fancy us to score
- We are markedly better at home than away
- Absolutely no pressure on us - we have no choice but go and give it a go
- Maybe they think the tie is already won - you can see at the end they think there in the Semis
- The game was lost in our inability to handle there press - hopefully we'll have a plan for it
- They needed 3 world class goals to beat us - other than that we handled them well
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All I will say is remember - 1994 Tranmere 3 Aston Villa 1 we were given no chance 😉
We also have a bat shit goal keeper this time around.
And it was Tranmere bloody Rovers
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NeededMings. I don’t think we concede three with him in the side.
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NeededMings. I don’t think we concede three with him in the side.
Those goals don’t get stopped by Ty. Centre backs weren’t the problem. Disasi really struggled, was constantly getting beaten and giving the ball away.
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NeededMings. I don’t think we concede three with him in the side.
The 1st 2 were just superb strikes, it wouldn’t have made a difference
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NeededMings. I don’t think we concede three with him in the side.
Those goals don’t get stopped by Ty. Centre backs weren’t the problem. Disasi really struggled, was constantly getting beaten and giving the ball away.
He's not a full back, end of story.
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Can’t deny our defence has improved since Mings has come in. Just look at how our goal difference has improved. The minute he puts Pau back in - boom..
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Can’t deny our defence has improved since Mings has come in. Just look at how our goal difference has improved. The minute he puts Pau back in - boom..
I fear you might be ignoring some pretty important wider factors. If you think tonight was about Pau, I’d say your probably missing something or have an agenda.
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Kvaratskhelia Is a peach of a footballer. 😍😍😍
I said that in the match thread. After 15 minutes he'd been on the right, on the left and down the middle. He literally does what he wants. Brilliant footballer. He's going to need a nickname though we can't keep typing that surname out.
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Can’t deny our defence has improved since Mings has come in. Just look at how our goal difference has improved. The minute he puts Pau back in - boom..
I fear you might be ignoring some pretty important wider factors. If you think tonight was about Pau, I’d say your probably missing something or have an agenda.
Agenda? You mean viewpoint?!
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NeededMings. I don’t think we concede three with him in the side.
Those goals don’t get stopped by Ty. Centre backs weren’t the problem. Disasi really struggled, was constantly getting beaten and giving the ball away.
He's not a full back, end of story.
Didn’t the Chelsea fans say he was gash at right back? Konsa is better than him there but then, in this lineup, you’re taking our best defender out of the centre.
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NeededMings. I don’t think we concede three with him in the side.
The 1st 2 were just superb strikes, it wouldn’t have made a difference
And they both glanced in off the woodwork. Great strikes but on another night it could have been a frustrating draw for PSG.
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I prefer Mings to Torres, but let's be clear, the opposition matters. Mings hasn't been up against this PSG team.
All three goals came from the other side, too. Pau played well.
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Well it’s also factually wrong - if by minute he was put in, you mean started a game, we won 3-0 at Brighton.
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Disasi is 100% not a right back.
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Good team
We had a plan and it almost worked, 2-1 would have been ok
But, I thought we sat off a bit too much and both when we went forward and defended our 2nd ball was poor.
No real moans about players, but Desai was poor for their second. Rashford was bungled out of the game and Kamara did not impose himself
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When Disasi came on , I thought he was going to go in the middle and Konsa to right back. I think that might have worked better.
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When Disasi came on , I thought he was going to go in the middle and Konsa to right back. I think that might have worked better.
Yeah, I was hoping that too.
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Disasi is 100% not a right back.
Definitely not, he just gets beaten too easily. Anyone against that quality would find it hard, but his positioning out wide means he gets his angles wrong. Didn’t help either that when he had the ball he kept giving it away.
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I’d rather be us than any other club going into the second leg behind.
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Disasi is 100% not a right back.
Definitely not, he just gets beaten too easily. Anyone against that quality would find it hard, but his positioning out wide means he gets his angles wrong. Didn’t help either that when he had the ball he kept giving it away.
Agree. We’ve been on a long unbeaten run. We should have kept faith with the defence that made that happen
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Can’t deny our defence has improved since Mings has come in. Just look at how our goal difference has improved. The minute he puts Pau back in - boom..
I fear you might be ignoring some pretty important wider factors. If you think tonight was about Pau, I’d say your probably missing something or have an agenda.
Agenda? You mean viewpoint?!
How does Mings stop any of their goals?
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Can’t deny our defence has improved since Mings has come in. Just look at how our goal difference has improved. The minute he puts Pau back in - boom..
I fear you might be ignoring some pretty important wider factors. If you think tonight was about Pau, I’d say your probably missing something or have an agenda.
Agenda? You mean viewpoint?!
How does Mings stop any of their goals?
It’s not about the individual goals.. it’s about the game
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Annoyingly that 3rd goal came after we had the ball in their defensive corner and again lost possession cheaply.
At the time we were looking like the team more likely to nick a goal too as we were getting some decent possession.
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Playing him as a second goalie perhaps?
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I thought we played very well, which is weird when you’ve been beaten 3-1. They are outstanding and the result reflects the game tonight.
But we’re still in it and I’ll take that. Proud of the lads tonight, they gave everything against a superb side, nobody let themselves down.
VTID
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They can't play any better, we definitely can is my hope for next week.
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I prefer Mings to Torres, but let's be clear, the opposition matters. Mings hasn't been up against this PSG team.
All three goals came from the other side, too. Pau played well.
Agree on all points. I prefer Mings, and I also think Konsa is our best right-back. But I thought Pau & Konsa were alright tonight.
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I'd like to have seen where Asensio's shot would have gone, had it not even deflected for a corner. Looked like it might have curled and nestled into the corner of the net.
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Can’t deny our defence has improved since Mings has come in. Just look at how our goal difference has improved. The minute he puts Pau back in - boom..
I fear you might be ignoring some pretty important wider factors. If you think tonight was about Pau, I’d say your probably missing something or have an agenda.
Agenda? You mean viewpoint?!
How does Mings stop any of their goals?
It’s not about the individual goals.. it’s about the game
They didn’t put a single cross into the box. It wasn’t a game where all Tyrone’s attributes make a difference
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It'll be just like the time PSG fucked up a 4-0 first leg lead.
If anything, we could have let them have another one.
They must have had an idiot in charge.
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I'd like to have seen where Asensio's shot would have gone, had it not even deflected for a corner. Looked like it might have curled and nestled into the corner of the net.
We all know it definitely would have. It’s Asensio. Should just count it. 3-2 to PSG. Deal?
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I'm.not too sure how much difference Mings would have made overall to be honest. Two of their goals came from belting finishes and on the opposite side too.
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I thought Cash was playing well, but with the early booking always a potential sending off up against the Georgian lad. Difficult as Disasi did get beaten too easily for their second but it was a great finish by a quality player.
Difficult to know what to do next week but maybe he starts with Watkins up top and Rashford out wide. Ramsey didnt do a lot wrong, but we’re never going to retain the ball for long enough to take the pressure off, or offer more of a threat with only one up there. Anythings a risk against such a good side.
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Wasn’t the game for Mings tonight. Their press and general speed was what was impressive and Mings has no effect on that.
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I prefer Mings to Torres, but let's be clear, the opposition matters. Mings hasn't been up against this PSG team.
All three goals came from the other side, too. Pau played well.
Agree on all points. I prefer Mings, and I also think Konsa is our best right-back. But I thought Pau & Konsa were alright tonight.
Agree too, so if you think Konsa is our best right back, and you prefer Mings to Pau, then who do you play in the Centre?
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I'm.not too sure how much difference Mings would have made overall to be honest. Two of their goals came from belting finishes and on the opposite side too.
Indeed. The defensive organisation and strength was very good. This is about some weakness down the right and playing a team that are a much higher level than we have been playing.
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Sometimes you just have to accept you were beaten by a better side. At least these days it's PSG in the Champions League rather than QPR in the Championship.
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I'm.not too sure how much difference Mings would have made overall to be honest. Two of their goals came from belting finishes and on the opposite side too.
Indeed. The defensive organisation and strength was very good. This is about some weakness down the right and playing a team that are a much higher level than we have been playing.
Can’t be all a coincidence though. Play Pau and GD against goes up. Play Mings and it goes down. That can’t be a coincidence. It’s over a fair few games
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Think it's a fairly poor performance reflecting back. Kept giving them the ball back time and time again, Martinez kept the score down . The ball players in the team just didn't do it . I think we were too passive and didn't grasp the occasion. Disappointing.
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Think it's a fairly poor performance reflecting back. Kept giving them the ball back time and time again, Martinez kept the score down . The ball players in the team just didn't do it . I think we were too passive and didn't grasp the occasion. Disappointing.
No one bite. That’s two-footed from Coops.
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I thought Onana was very good. McGinn in the first half and Onana after he came on were the only midfielders who really got into them and disrupted them. That carry from Onana late on showed how they could be got at.
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We also seemed to lack leadership out there , that's the bit where we missed Mings for sure .
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I'm.not too sure how much difference Mings would have made overall to be honest. Two of their goals came from belting finishes and on the opposite side too.
Indeed. The defensive organisation and strength was very good. This is about some weakness down the right and playing a team that are a much higher level than we have been playing.
Can’t be all a coincidence though. Play Pau and GD against goes up. Play Mings and it goes down. That can’t be a coincidence. It’s over a fair few games
It doesn't work like that. PSG are a very very good side. If you think we wouldn't have conceded with Mings playing, then I'm not sure that else to say.
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Sometimes you just have to accept you were beaten by a better side. At least these days it's PSG in the Champions League rather than QPR in the Championship.
PSG*. The same kind of team as Manchester City*.
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We also seemed to lack leadership out there , that's the bit where we missed Mings for sure .
Exactly. It’s about “chi”
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I'm sure someone on here mentioned Tranmere the other day, just got to do that again
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Think it's a fairly poor performance reflecting back. Kept giving them the ball back time and time again, Martinez kept the score down . The ball players in the team just didn't do it . I think we were too passive and didn't grasp the occasion. Disappointing.
It was frustrating that we kept giving the ball way but we just had no time at all due to their willingness to challenge and win it back. Kamara is normally highly involved but he was pretty much anonymous tonight because of their quick movement.
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I'm.not too sure how much difference Mings would have made overall to be honest. Two of their goals came from belting finishes and on the opposite side too.
Indeed. The defensive organisation and strength was very good. This is about some weakness down the right and playing a team that are a much higher level than we have been playing.
Can’t be all a coincidence though. Play Pau and GD against goes up. Play Mings and it goes down. That can’t be a coincidence. It’s over a fair few games
Well only if you think that the only factor that changes in that time is Mings or Pau. But it’s not - Mings has done well but our improvement has also coincided with having more players fit, crucially Kamara playing a lot. Also Pau started last week and we won 3-0 away at a team who had been scoring for fun. This game wasn’t about Pau vs Mings, it was about PSG being a significant level up.
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I love how we wouldn't have lost against one of the best teams in European football if Tyrone Mings had been playing.
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A lot of people mentioned Tranmere after the first leg at Bradford as well.
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I'm.not too sure how much difference Mings would have made overall to be honest. Two of their goals came from belting finishes and on the opposite side too.
Indeed. The defensive organisation and strength was very good. This is about some weakness down the right and playing a team that are a much higher level than we have been playing.
Can’t be all a coincidence though. Play Pau and GD against goes up. Play Mings and it goes down. That can’t be a coincidence. It’s over a fair few games
Well only if you think that the only factor that changes in that time is Mings or Pau. But it’s not - Mings has done well but our improvement has also coincided with having more players fit, crucially Kamara playing a lot. Also Pau started last week and we won 3-0 away at a team who had been scoring for fun. This game wasn’t about Pau vs Mings, it was about PSG being a significant level up.
It was about “chi”
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I love how we wouldn't have lost against one of the best teams in European football if Tyrone Mings had been playing.
I think it's a mistake starting Torres in only his second game since injury. He offered very little defensive wise and his passing USP wasn't there either .
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I'm.not too sure how much difference Mings would have made overall to be honest. Two of their goals came from belting finishes and on the opposite side too.
Indeed. The defensive organisation and strength was very good. This is about some weakness down the right and playing a team that are a much higher level than we have been playing.
Can’t be all a coincidence though. Play Pau and GD against goes up. Play Mings and it goes down. That can’t be a coincidence. It’s over a fair few games
Well you are missing we have got lots of other players back at the same time like Kamara in midfield and also got rid of Carlos. But the recent run of good form has also included Torres playing there like Brighton match, not just Mings. But whilst playing Mings would have maybe stopped a couple of their chances in the second half especially, I don't see what difference he would have made in the scoreline with the goals we conceded. Especially as PSG have been creating chances for fun against lots of teams since about November / early December.
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I'm.not too sure how much difference Mings would have made overall to be honest. Two of their goals came from belting finishes and on the opposite side too.
Indeed. The defensive organisation and strength was very good. This is about some weakness down the right and playing a team that are a much higher level than we have been playing.
Can’t be all a coincidence though. Play Pau and GD against goes up. Play Mings and it goes down. That can’t be a coincidence. It’s over a fair few games
Well only if you think that the only factor that changes in that time is Mings or Pau. But it’s not - Mings has done well but our improvement has also coincided with having more players fit, crucially Kamara playing a lot. Also Pau started last week and we won 3-0 away at a team who had been scoring for fun. This game wasn’t about Pau vs Mings, it was about PSG being a significant level up.
I get your point but Kamara has played virtually every minute of every game since his return from injury. His inclusion in the team was supposed to herald a tighter defensive unit but it didn’t.
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Look at it like this......we are better placed than both Real Madrid and Dortmund to reach a Champions League Semi Final......i'll take that
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Sickener at the end. Can’t say it was undeserved. Hard to criticise individuals. Or the approach really.
Our best moments came when McGinn was ratting around and putting them under pressure. I think we’re going to have to find a way to press them in the next game even if it leaves us more open.
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A lot of people mentioned Tranmere after the first leg at Bradford as well.
I suppose the quality of the teams are on a sliding scale with Bradford being worse than Tranmere. So we shouldn't need pens this time.
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Win 2-0 and beat them on penalties. Doesn't sound impossible. Keep the faith.
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Mings would have made smeg all difference. They outplayed us so much that 1992 McGrath wouldn't have changed the scoreline.
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I love how we wouldn't have lost against one of the best teams in European football if Tyrone Mings had been playing.
I think it's a mistake starting Torres in only his second game since injury. He offered very little defensive wise and his passing USP wasn't there either .
I thought he defended well
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I see what was a football discussion based on common sense and informed opinions has been infiltrated by Villa Troll.
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What we have to work out, and it’s bloody difficult, is how to release the ball quick. They press in 3 or 4’s so well but it means if you get through they are exposed.
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I'm.not too sure how much difference Mings would have made overall to be honest. Two of their goals came from belting finishes and on the opposite side too.
Indeed. The defensive organisation and strength was very good. This is about some weakness down the right and playing a team that are a much higher level than we have been playing.
Can’t be all a coincidence though. Play Pau and GD against goes up. Play Mings and it goes down. That can’t be a coincidence. It’s over a fair few games
Well only if you think that the only factor that changes in that time is Mings or Pau. But it’s not - Mings has done well but our improvement has also coincided with having more players fit, crucially Kamara playing a lot. Also Pau started last week and we won 3-0 away at a team who had been scoring for fun. This game wasn’t about Pau vs Mings, it was about PSG being a significant level up.
I get your point but Kamara has played virtually every minute of every game since his return from injury. His inclusion in the team was supposed to herald a tighter defensive unit but it didn’t.
Kamara has played loads during good and bad runs. I don’t think it’s him.
When pau plays, we concede more. Thats just a fact.
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A lot of people mentioned Tranmere after the first leg at Bradford as well.
TBH if we won this second leg 2-1 I would be ecstatic still.
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I love how we wouldn't have lost against one of the best teams in European football if Tyrone Mings had been playing.
I think it's a mistake starting Torres in only his second game since injury. He offered very little defensive wise and his passing USP wasn't there either .
I thought he defended well
He did - if by did very little defensive wise means didn’t really make any mistakes and wasn’t at fault for any of the goals then I’ll take that most games.
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Annoyingly that 3rd goal came after we had the ball in their defensive corner and again lost possession cheaply.
At the time we were looking like the team more likely to nick a goal too as we were getting some decent possession.
Yeah, I remember that as well. Had it in the corner with not long left at all, but gave it away and they broke. 2-1 would have had such a different feel to it.
Been trying to flip it and looking at our perspective when we were 3-1 up against Bruges from the first leg. It didn't feel comfortable going into that game as you knew that one goal would completely change the complexion of the tie.
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I love how we wouldn't have lost against one of the best teams in European football if Tyrone Mings had been playing.
I think it's a mistake starting Torres in only his second game since injury. He offered very little defensive wise and his passing USP wasn't there either .
I thought he defended well
Not convinced . The defence is weaker when he plays through lack of leadership and strength . I get his ball playing might be better but we saw none of it tonight in a game he should have thrived in picking passes from the back, we saw nothing of it .
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I love how we wouldn't have lost against one of the best teams in European football if Tyrone Mings had been playing.
I think it's a mistake starting Torres in only his second game since injury. He offered very little defensive wise and his passing USP wasn't there either .
Fucking total bollocks being spouted here. Pau gave us some composure and stability when others were floundering. Look some where else if you can be bothered?
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What we have to work out, and it’s bloody difficult, is how to release the ball quick. They press in 3 or 4’s so well but it means if you get through they are exposed.
Rashford and Tielemans are key for me. There were a few opportunities tonight and the wrong option was taken, fine margins but that’s the level were operating at.
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We've got to hold and give but do it at the right time.
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We had no one further forward to pass to. The only thing Mings might have done was give us more of a threat at set pieces, but there is no way that Mings being on the pitch would have stopped the 1st and 2nd goals either.
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I said this morning that if Real Madrid get an early goal against Arsenal , they’ll win.
It would by hypocrisy to not apply that to us.
Yes, at 2-1 I thought we are in it. At 3-1 gutted.
But we are in this. A rocking VP. Early goal, we can beat these.
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Sometimes you just have to accept you were beaten by a better side.
Yeah, proud of the team tonight, we lost to a top class side with a top class manager.
It's worth noting that Arsenal have been huffing and puffing trying to win e CL for the best part of 25 years. Even Pep's Citeh with all their dominance and $$$ have only won it once. We can dream, but it was always unlikely that we'd just rock up and win it again (even with Emery in charge). It is a bit annoying that Barca and PSG seemed to have really improved this season, as I'd have fancied us against any of the rest this year.
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We are world class at appreciating the opposition. Fuck sake. 2-0 down at half time. Rio and co give us zero chance.
Rio's got more important things to worry about - finding a PSG shirt to wipe his nob on for a start.
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Anyway, we can blame shit Citeh for losing a two goal lead in Paris which kept PSG in the CL.
Arsenal beat them when they were shit as well but Barca / PSG final in my eyes with the way they are playing.
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What we have to work out, and it’s bloody difficult, is how to release the ball quick. They press in 3 or 4’s so well but it means if you get through they are exposed.
Exactly.
Very good point.
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Memories of Tranmere
Indeed
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MOTM is Martinez , he kept the scoreline down . Could easily have been 5 or 6-1 .
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Struggling to be annoyed. They’re one of the best teams I’ve seen us play in my life.
Just saying that to my daughter. They are ridiculously good.
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No complaints, annoying we concede so late but even 3-1 feels a bit of a steal.
I assume Ollie is managing an injury still as surprised we didn't put him on at the hour mark as Rashford just kept running into defenders second half and midfield was just in protection mode.
They are a proper side. Ideal mix of controlled tempo and rapid counters which is still the best Football to watch when played right.
I've enjoyed the CL but feels a bit like Dortmund that we're a bit above our level at this stage so hopefully a spirited performance next week and then we can concentrate fully on the domestic stuff which could still be historic.
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Agreed with many of the comments; no complaints after that given we’ve played an outstanding side.
Good barometer of where we want to get to; this is just the start of our journey.
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As mentioned before if we get an early goal then it’s game on.
Preferably two.
They are an exceptional side.
But they are very vulnerable to our breaking play.
I would start Ollie.
And go absolutely all guns from the off.
Not sure how they would react if they if we scored 2 goals quickly.
They might panic and disrupt their style of play.
Anyhow FTF.
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Win 2-0 and beat them on penalties. Doesn't sound impossible. Keep the faith.
Indeed. When do we ever lose on pens? Only when West Ham field ineligible players, right?
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Only managed to see last 30 mins or so. Thought we were strong in that time, goal at end didn't look like it was coming.
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Just back.
We got a footballing lesson and the late goal was a sickener, but reasons to be cheerful:
It will make us stronger.
We have a few players they fear, too.
Unai owes Enrique a remontada
Get a goal at VP and it's a game (shades of Athletico 98 for me, rather than Tranmere).
Their "Martinez la salope" is great, we should hijack it.
UTV!
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We needed everybody to be close to their best including the manager and they weren’t.
Cash at RB was a problem from the off. Then too many poor performances and miss placed passes from pretty much every one.
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One thing I will say Ax at right back is not a good option.
Amen! I imagine Emery took Cash out because he was on a yellow, but Disasi is not a great replacement. Who knew that I would rather have Garcia available than Disasi?
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I was at the game. Live in France and couldn’t get a ticket in the Villa end, so was in the Boulogne stand which was quite intense, right next to the Villa fans.
PSG are a fantastic team and fair play to them and Enrique, I like their players, especially that Georgian fella.
But the club is so tacky. Some aggressive fans, a tacky announcer, who actually gees fans up during the game, which I found pathetic, the Auteuil end trying to scare us with a skull (admittedly well designed) was woeful, as was the constant drumming and their mostly awful songs. The bloke behind me seemed to get off on calling Martinez a bitch throughout, and his cackle hurt my ears. The fireworks were tacky as hell too. If we don’t get past them, which is the most likely scenario, I hope Arse knock them out.
For the sake of balance, we had a couple of utter knobheads who spent more time sticking their fingers up at PSG fans than actually watching us. Not threatening, but total idiots and tedious.
Strange experience overall but a good bond with my son, his first Villa game.
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I prefer Mings to Torres, but let's be clear, the opposition matters. Mings hasn't been up against this PSG team.
All three goals came from the other side, too. Pau played well.
Agree on all points. I prefer Mings, and I also think Konsa is our best right-back. But I thought Pau & Konsa were alright tonight.
Agree too, so if you think Konsa is our best right back, and you prefer Mings to Pau, then who do you play in the Centre?
Exactly. Konsa/Mings is our best CB partnership, so it’s a hard one.
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One thing I will say Ax at right back is not a good option.
Amen! I imagine Emery took Cash out because he was on a yellow, but Disasi is not a great replacement. Who knew that I would rather have Garcia available than Disasi?
It was a mistake in my book. Disasi couldn’t cope first with the Georgian bloke (though he was brilliant) and then with Barcola. He wasn’t all bad, but he’s better in the middle.
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We also seemed to lack leadership out there , that's the bit where we missed Mings for sure .
I only saw last 30 mins or so tonight but I'm not sure how Mings helps matters. They don't play with a typical striker for Mings to get stuck into, they are pressing hard from the front so Mings would have struggled with that. It's an elite football team who probably win it out.
In saying all that Id play Mings in the home leg and Watkins too. Push up higher and put them under pressure Jack Charlton style from the first minute. From what I saw, Rashford wasnt offering anything up top. Back to goal play really isn't up to it.
Score first again and the tie is back on.
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Lovely cuddly Villa fans throwing a pint at my head x
Hope you're ok?
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They were really good in, and out, of possession. They scored three exceptional goals, which were very hard to defend against. We respected them, held them until the very end. Then third goal makes it harder, but it's not impossible.
At 2-1 we'd need to win by 2 to go through, now those 2 goals will just take us to extra time and penalties, at home with Emi Martinez in net.
So it's far from over. We have a group of players who can create and score goals. Now we've played them, we know them better. They've not played at Villa Park before.
There was talk of accepting 2-0 beforehand, it feels worse because we conceded right at the end. Of course we're still in it, we can go for it if we need to, and let's have some fun next week.
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We did it against Tranmere, we can do it with these lot... they are almost the same.
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We did it against Tranmere, we can do it with these lot... they are almost the same.
They're better than Tranmere. We're better than us.
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We need a Tranmere night next Tuesday.
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I've had a premonition that we'll win the second leg 4-1.
Anyway. Not wanting to second guess Emery, we'd have been better served with Watkins starting up front and going route one. PSG clearly press from the front and the best way to deal with that is a hardworking nuisance forward and pop it over the top to turn the opposition. You may lose possession but it's better to do that up the field than near your own box.
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The Champions League is meant to be about 'special nights'. We'll need a special night at VP. So what?
They're a very good side and the odds are against us but we're still in it. A goal in the first ten minutes at VP and who knows.
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Third goal was a kick in a teeth…but it’s far from over.
McGinn was immense. To play like that in the champions league is a testament to his journey.
Rodgers very impressive with little support at times.
Rashford was obviously going to see little of the ball. But was disappointing when he had it. These are the games we brought him in for.
Diasi was awful at first but steadied himself.
Kamara (I never thought I’d write this) not good today.
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I know the result is disappointing, especially conceding the third goal so late but after watching the game I just felt so proud of our team.
I think they stuck to Unai's game plan and defensively we were very solid.
I thought that even though the result went against us, we performed better than Liverpool did in Paris.
We are just playing at the very peak of world club football and they are a great team.
Evidently a class above us right now.
Football is a funny game though and
if we can just get the first goal next week, you never know.
UTV
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We're still in this but we'll need to put in the same sort of performance that we have done against Man City at home for the last two seasons. We have to take our game to them, at pace. If we're passive, we'll go out with a whimper.
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The bloke behind me seemed to get off on calling Martinez a bitch throughout, and his cackle hurt my ears.
I thought it was quite funny. They were all singing it. Very simple chant we could hijack to great and amusing effect.
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The Champions League is meant to be about 'special nights'. We'll need a special night at VP. So what?
They're a very good side and the odds are against us but we're still in it. A goal in the first ten minutes at VP and who knows.
Exactly. It’ll be a totally different game and atmosphere next week. We’re in this on merit and all I ask is that we believe in ourselves (because evidently, a lot of commentators don’t).
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I know they're very good, but I thought we showed them too much respect. We never really tested them with any sustained pressure. We obviously need to be more on the front foot next Tuesday, but at the same time be wary of their quick transition on the counter. Just score first and it's game on!
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I was at the game. Live in France and couldn’t get a ticket in the Villa end, so was in the Boulogne stand which was quite intense, right next to the Villa fans.
PSG are a fantastic team and fair play to them and Enrique, I like their players, especially that Georgian fella.
But the club is so tacky. Some aggressive fans, a tacky announcer, who actually gees fans up during the game, which I found pathetic, the Auteuil end trying to scare us with a skull (admittedly well designed) was woeful, as was the constant drumming and their mostly awful songs. The bloke behind me seemed to get off on calling Martinez a bitch throughout, and his cackle hurt my ears. The fireworks were tacky as hell too. If we don’t get past them, which is the most likely scenario, I hope Arse knock them out.
For the sake of balance, we had a couple of utter knobheads who spent more time sticking their fingers up at PSG fans than actually watching us. Not threatening, but total idiots and tedious.
Strange experience overall but a good bond with my son, his first Villa game.
I had a similar experience, the announcer chanting and starting songs to get the crowd going during the game was pathetic and really shouldn’t be allowed.
They re so proud of being around since 1979.it really was not fun being surrounded by the flag waving choreographed chanting plastic tossers.
On the pitch it was a well oiled sports car against a clunky Friday afternoon morris marina with a square wheel.If only we could have held on until half time, not capitulated at the start of the second half, then again in injury time. The ref gave us absolutely nothing and with no outlet they had so much possession and momentum ( Rashford is not a number 9)we got what we deserved.
Sure we will give it a go next Tuesday but I doubt we will stop them from scoring.
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I know they're very good, but I thought we showed them too much respect. We never really tested them with any sustained pressure. We obviously need to be more on the front foot next Tuesday, but at the same time be wary of their quick transition on the counter. Just score first and it's game on!
Easier said than done with the way they were pressing us.
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Ball retention and the press were key. We didn't deal with their press well and did not execute ours well, either, which meant our ball retention was poor.
I didn't understand why Garcia, once purchased, wasn't in the Euro squad: several people have said that Disasi is a decent CB but lacks the pace and guile to operate as a RB.
They feared Rashford and doubled up on him throughout the game: next week we need to get more pace up front and test their defence - when we did, we scored.
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The Champions League is meant to be about 'special nights'. We'll need a special night at VP. So what?
They're a very good side and the odds are against us but we're still in it. A goal in the first ten minutes at VP and who knows.
Or even on 85 minutes.
But agree with your overall point: moments of doubt are part of the process of becoming champions. It looks super hard but we can do it. To do so, we will certainly need some of our best players to stick a few goals in top bins from 20 yards or from impossible angles. Just like PSG, actually.
UTV!
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I’m remaining optimistic. We’re two goals down with the home leg to come. Next week is going to be like the Tranmere League Cup semi final at VP in 1994. An early Villa goal and the atmosphere will be unbelievable. A 3-1 win and Emi working his magic in the penalty shootout.
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One encouraging thing is I don't think their defence is all that good, although I appreciate they'll have Marquinhos back.
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i
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Tough one to take against a really good team, we are still in the tie, we were always going to have to beat them at some stage, perhaps they will be a bit complacent now they got that late 3rd.
Felt sorry for Cash, he was a foul away from a booking, and then Konsa lost the ball and he had to cover for him, with a bit of a lunge.
Thought we took Ramsey off a bit early, as him and McGinn were doing well down their sides.
What a player McGinn is ? No matter whether you play him left, right or centre he performs well, must be hard moving around game to game, and then that tackle for our goal was what he is all about.
At least we’ve got plenty of options up front now to try and find a way through them, keeping them close to nil on Tuesday will be the harder bit I’d imagine.
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If we can get one back in the first fifteen minutes the whole game changes, don't understand the negativity.
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We don't need an early goal. We just need 2 more than them.
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If we can get one back in the first fifteen minutes the whole game changes, don't understand the negativity.
I’m not sure it’s negativity for the most part. I think most people are acknowledging just how good PSG were rather than being overall critical of us. Then I think it’s realism, there’s a small chance next week but a lot needs to change and a lot needs to go our way.
Many teams would have been obliterated last night, so we did well to just about still be in the tie. But it does illustrate the size of the task.
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Kvaratskhelia Is a peach of a footballer. 😍😍😍
Best player on the park by a mile I thought.
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Great experience in Paris last night. PSG are very good. The Villa game plan was executed pretty well and at 2-1 it would have been job done. I'm assuming we will be more aggressive and press higher at Villa Park. We risk getting caught on the break but we didn't actually see how PSG can cope with an aggressive high ppress.
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If we can get one back in the first fifteen minutes the whole game changes, don't understand the negativity.
I’m not sure it’s negativity for the most part. I think most people are acknowledging just how good PSG were rather than being overall critical of us. Then I think it’s realism, there’s a small chance next week but a lot needs to change and a lot needs to go our way.
Many teams would have been obliterated last night, so we did well to just about still be in the tie. But it does illustrate the size of the task.
Yes they were scary in their speed, movement, co-ordination and finishing.
They looked a level above us.
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They did but the last 10 mins and the introduction of the subs showed the way. We have to try and get into them and try and carry the ball more.
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Not a lot we did wrong, they just scored 2 unbelievable strikes, but the 3rd goal feels like it has taken the wind out of our sails.
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It's half time and we need to score 2 goals at VP.
Do you want to bet against us...?
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That's third goal was a sickener. I take some of the blame as I was saying to a mate at 90 minutes, that although they'd dominated possession and had a lot of shots, it still took them two absolute worldies to beat us.
They are an incredible team, to be fair, and look like having their own 'invincible' season domestically, so they're the form team in Europe. Kvaratskhelia is the player we all hoped Jack would become for us - brilliant to watch except when he's playing against you.
It's not 100% over, but I can't see us keeping a clean sheet against them at VP. If we score first though, who knows?
Some people are saying the result showed our limitations, but let's be clear, their stats against Liverpool were almost identical (71% possession, 27 shots, 11 on target against Liverpool, and 75% possession, 29 shots, 10 on target against us). There is no shame losing to a team this good.
How Arsenal beat them 2-0 earlier in the season is beyond me. I'm sure Unai will be having a GOOD look at that game (and their defeat to Bayern) to see how it was done. But even in those games, PSG dominated, but were picked off on the counter. We might not have that luxury.
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If we can get one back in the first fifteen minutes the whole game changes, don't understand the negativity.
I’m not sure it’s negativity for the most part. I think most people are acknowledging just how good PSG were rather than being overall critical of us. Then I think it’s realism, there’s a small chance next week but a lot needs to change and a lot needs to go our way.
Many teams would have been obliterated last night, so we did well to just about still be in the tie. But it does illustrate the size of the task.
Yes they were scary in their speed, movement, co-ordination and finishing.
They looked a level above us.
One of the things I've noticed when we've come up against some of the elite sides in this competition is the athleticism and pace they have in their teams. It just enables them to break and turn defence into attack so quickly.
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That was the best team we've faced this year, Kvara's the best player we've faced this year, and it's OK to lose sometimes.
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Ball retention and the press were key. We didn't deal with their press well and did not execute ours well, either, which meant our ball retention was poor.
I didn't understand why Garcia, once purchased, wasn't in the Euro squad: several people have said that Disasi is a decent CB but lacks the pace and guile to operate as a RB.
A CB who might be able to play RB was more pressing than an unknown RB from the Spanish second division who was unproven for the team. Especially as we had sold one CB, another was out for at least 6-8 weeks, a third had just come back from a long term injury and a fourth was starting to get niggly injuries. But hindsight.......
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i
Robot?
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If we can get one back in the first fifteen minutes the whole game changes, don't understand the negativity.
It’s not negativity. As Monty said, sometimes it’s ok to lose, and they are the best side in Europe. I think they’d have beaten anyone last night.
2-1 would have been an achievement, they’re that good. 3-1 though is extremely hard to come back from when the opposition are that good.
It doesn’t really matter how good we are, and most sides would not have lived with them as long as we did, it’s that they are extraordinarily good, which makes a two goal deficit look insurmountable.
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i
Robot?
I I I used to ride my bicycle all alone.
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Well I feel a bit less confident having read that they have won their last 16 away games in all competitions.
Fair does to Enrique, you wouldn't say that his team is chocked full of star names but he has them working as one hell of a unit. Seeing how easily they kept the ball Vs how difficult our international class players found it to string a few passes together was sobering.
We did well to hang in there and obviously the last goal was a sickener. But we can win next week if we find an aggressive, high energy performance in the mould of the Man City home game last season next week. At them from the off and rattle their ball players. We can't stand and watch the likes of Vitinha again all night.
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I was at the Parc des Princes last night. We gave a good account of ourselves in a difficult game. Our discipline and defensive shape and ability on the counter were there to see but was let down with poor execution. They’ve got 2 or 3 world class players who were absolutely on their game. Enrique ensured they kept any probing away from our centre backs and they kept creating overloads on fullbacks particularly our right hand side which kept dragging Bouba and Youri out of position and meant McGinn was constantly being dragged back into the final third.
I’m going to put a few scores on the doors, bronte style.
Martinez -7 didn’t seem to do much wrong in my view no chance with any of the goals.
Cash -5 was doing ok against the Georgian and slightly unlucky with his booking and then having to be hooked. We lost something after he went off.
Konsa -5 had a dodgy start seemed to settle and be ok then got done for the third.
Torres -6 I thought he looked calm and composed and it was noticeable PSG pressed really hard when he had the ball.
Digne -6 probably Luca’s best and most disciplined performance for us from a defensive perspective, they definitely focused more on our right than left but we just looked more secure on his side of the pitch.
Kamara -5 worked tremendously hard but ended up playing as an auxiliary Right CB for most of the night. Slightly sloppy in possession.
Tielemans - 6 disciplined from Youri and when he got up the pitch looked threatening and of course an assist.
McGinn - 5 a real up and down night for John, some real good assertive tackling and interceptions and transitioning the ball well to Roger’s/Rashford but also some woeful passing and losing of possesion and poor positional play.
Ramsey -5 like McGinn a real up and down night.
Rogers -7 a goal, some superb play against a tough opponent in Nuno Mendes and bar a few sloppy moments was my MotM.
Rashford - 5 some great stuff in the first half and they were absolutely shit scared of him but got next to no service second half and drifted from the game.
Disasi -4 got done by the Georgian as soon as he came on (it was a fucking brilliant goal) settled into after that and looked ok but then got done for the third.
Asensio - 5 no real impact but could have scored bar the deflection.
Watkins, Onana, Maatsen - no score as not really on long enough to impact.
Emery - 5 slightly too passive in our set up but get the mentality of trying to ensure we were in the tie going back to VP. Thought he got the subs wrong and would have had onana, Maatsen and Watkins on earlier.
My only other comment is that the French stadium announcer can shove his microphone right up his arse……..sideways.
Great day in Paris with good friends beforehand and bar the 3rd goal going in and putting a dampener on it a really good away trip.
We’re still in this, just, we need Unai to take some calculated risks. We don’t need an early goal, we just need 2 goals. Don’t make the Liverpool mistake of going for it and conceding early, stay in the tie.
Right off for some breakfast before my flight home. Onwards…..
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That was the best team we've faced this year, Kvara's the best player we've faced this year, and it's OK to lose sometimes.
Exactly, they somehow managed to play at high speed and showing youthful exuberance but at the same time always to be in control. It’s an old cliche but it really did look they had 13 players on the pitch as they seemed able to outnumber us in attack and defence.
Could still be a special night next week.
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Torres -6 I thought he looked calm and composed and it was noticeable PSG pressed really hard when he had the ball.
Disasi -4 got done by the Georgian as soon as he came on (it was a fucking brilliant goal) settled into after that and looked ok but then got done for the third.
With Torres, they were pressing him more as they know he could hurt them so stifled his chance to do that.
The whole right side back line got done for the third, but Disasi was in position to mark the winger and Mendy just stood between him and Kamara. The latter's was the biggest mistake as he dived in to cut out the ball where if he had ran with his man, the cutback would have probably been easily cleared up. But as soon as he missed it he had the free run into the box.
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An early goal against them next week then who knows they are a good side though.
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I've had a premonition that we'll win the second leg 4-1.
Anyway. Not wanting to second guess Emery, we'd have been better served with Watkins starting up front and going route one. PSG clearly press from the front and the best way to deal with that is a hardworking nuisance forward and pop it over the top to turn the opposition. You may lose possession but it's better to do that up the field than near your own box.
Agreed. Apart from losing, the most disappointing thing for me last night was the lack of effort from Rashford on a forward press or putting a strong challenge in. Everyone else worked their nuts off.
Reminded me of Gabby towards the ends of his career. Lots of 'token' efforts to challenge (amble towards opponent and shake hips) and a sprint every half hour. We need more from Rashford and he does have it in his locker.
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It's probably put the tie beyond us but we definitely will give it a go and if it's the end of a magnificent campaign there's memories that will last a long time. Their speed of execution was a step up from anything I've seen last night so to still be in the tie is a positive.
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That was the best team we've faced this year, Kvara's the best player we've faced this year, and it's OK to lose sometimes.
Wheyyy, Monty!
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Don't think we played badly as such but we weren't tight enough at times and our ball retention was very average . Goal 1 for example he has too much space and time to get a shot away . They probably played as well as they have all season and in that sense we may have played them on a bad night. Before the game their commentary team on PSG TV were saying how in the mood their players , fans everyone felt
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I think Kamara should have come off when Onana came on. He looked like he was blowing the last 10.
Love him to bits but his lunge to try an intercept rather than running back into to cover might have help keep it at 2-1 if he had the legs
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You could see they targeted our right, part of the problem is Rogers not being great without the ball. It’s a shame that Garcia isn’t available as he offers much more than Cash.
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Not sure why we chased the game at 1-2 . We perhaps should have sat back and kept it tight and seen it out.
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Not sure what you are blathering about now, but the 3rd goal occurred when we were sitting back and keeping it tight to see out a 1 goal deficit. It wasn't a break out from the edge of their box like the second one started from.
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https://x.com/fbawaydays/status/1910057376499298529?s=46
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Agree with AV82FC's ratings, by and large.
Would emphasise that they were fearful of Rashford, and even though he was a marginal presence, especially in the second half, you could see why. He's a Rolls of a player, a thoroughbred. Was the first time I'd seen him in the flesh, it really struck me.
Onana did us a lot of good when he came on, and instigated the only period of sustained possession we had in the game.
It was unfortunate that, having taken off the specialist RB, Disasi was turned so easily by Kvara and within minutes.
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The score early v them narrative is a bit of simplistic view.
We need to make sure we don't concede and try force them on the backfoot during first half.
Maybe start Ollie and Asensio ahead of Rashford and Jacob. Fuck knows what we do at right back mind.
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How Arsenal beat them 2-0 earlier in the season is beyond me. I'm sure Unai will be having a GOOD look at that game (and their defeat to Bayern) to see how it was done.
They've been playing in a completely different way since December when something clicked with how they play.
It would be like Simon Rusk poring over videos of our defeat in Brugges for clues on how to play us on Saturday.
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Just to point out they conceded from the first shot on target so must be shit.
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F365 match report feels like it could easily have been written by someone on here who was watching the TNT feed.
“Do not go for a punditry job because I could be out of the game!” Rio Ferdinand told Prince William after the Prince of Wales analysed the task facing Aston Villa ahead of their clash with Paris Saint-Germain. We think we speak for everyone watching TNT Sports’ coverage on Wednesday in hoping against hope that his Royal Highness hands in an application.
Before Youri Tielemans found Morgan Rogers to open the scoring at the Parcs des Princes in the 35th minute, Aston Villa had enjoyed one touch in the Paris Saint-Germain box – a harmless Jacob Ramsey cross after Gianluigi Donnarumma came and flapped at a free-kick booted into the box from 40 yards away. It was exactly how Unai Emery dreamt it.
Attempt to play this PSG at their own game and his side would have been destroyed. The best bet – the only bet – was to stay in the game and hope for a moment. PSG had by that point had 19 touches in Villa’s box, as well as eight shots and 297 passes to Villa’s 97. The hosts were dominant but had been kept at arm’s length by a side playing better without the ball than they were with it.
There didn’t seem to be any particular press trigger to spark John McGinn’s charge at the seemingly indomitable Nuno Mendes, rob of him of possession and knock him off his feet – the Scot had clearly decided having chased his tail for half an hour that he would at worst take man, with ball an added bonus.
He used it brilliantly, finding Marcus Rashford, who waited for Youri Tielemans’ inside run beyond him, before the Belgian played the ball across the face of goal to where he knew Morgan Rogers would be, because Rogers is almost always where he’s needed. Almost.
He’ll get closer to Desire Doue next time. The young Frenchman took full advantage of the couple of extra yards he was granted by Rogers to front him up, cut inside and whip a stunning off-balance shot in off the underside of the bar as Emi Martinez did that crouched look over the shoulder thing goalkeepers do when facing unstoppable efforts.
It was a very good goal from a very good player, we’re not saying it wasn’t or he isn’t, but our enjoyment of that moment, Doue’s performance and the experience of watching this game in general was checked by the orgasmic howls of the teenage gamer on co-commentary, to the point where we were begging Khvicha Kvaratskhelia to stop embarrassing opponents to avoid further anger-inducing soundbites. We’re all being merked.
“Ally, the stud roll, the stud roll. Disasi left the building,” Rio Ferdinand said as Kvaratskhelia turned Axel Disasi inside out to score the second majestic PSG goal of three on the night, as we cursed TNT Sports for the lack of the stadium sounds option provided by Amazon Prime, whose coverage requires no such alternative.
Because we aren’t forced to listen to a grown man talk about football like he’s a 16-year-old selling bodybuilding supplements on TikTok shop. If Ferdinand wasn’t being paid handsomely in a punditry career acting as an extension of his 2006 World Cup Wind-Ups show he would be be making ‘Welcome to Manchester United: All Skills and Goals’ videos on YouTube and finger slapping while filming himself opening packs of panini stickers.
He loves football, which is great. We love football too. But we love football far less when hearing Ferdinand ooo-ing on the brink of climax after a wonder-goal when what we actually want is at most a few words from the commentator after nothing at all from anyone as we take in the noise from the fans and the joy of the players while we come to terms with what we’ve just seen.
Which was brilliant. PSG are a very, very good football team, excellent with and without the ball, made up of extraordinarily talented footballers who have a very good chance of winning the Champions League thanks to the work-rate and commitment to a philosophy that was so often lacking in previous groups of extraordinarily talented footballers they’ve had over the last decade.
At 2-1 we didn’t quite fancy Villa to progress but it felt like a result Emery may well have taken at kick-off ahead of the second leg at Villa Park, but the stoppage-time third for PSG was a real gut punch.
It was our favourite goal though. Not because of the perfectly-weighted defence-splitting pass from Ousmane Dembele or the chop back from Nuno Mendes from his favoured left foot to his right before sweeping his shot over Martinez, but because it was preceded by four very welcome words from commentator Darren Fletcher to afford us some peace as the game reached it’s conclusion: “We’ve lost Rio now.”
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I thought we struggled down our right all night mainly because Rogers is not so good going backwards. Mendes and the Georgian lad may well be the best wide combination in European football at the moment and we never had enough cover for Cash and Desasi. Maybe McGinn on the right may have been better and Rogers through the middle, but McGinn covered a lot of ground in that role, so swings and roundabouts maybe.
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I can't help but be disappointed today, it feels like a missed opportunity once we'd gotten to 1-0. We really needed to get through to half time still ahead and I think Rogers switched off for their first goal. Then at 2-1 we had a second opportunity to get to VP only a goal behind and switched off for their third. It seemed to me they deliberately had a ploy with a minute or two to go where they slowed the game down and made it seem like they were happy with the 2-1 but really they were trying to break our concentration for one last move and we fell for it.
We missed having the Ollie from the Bayern game where his hold up play was excellent and helped us to get out. (Not that I would have picked him last night as he has been so off it lately) Too many panicked clearances when players needed to be brave for a second and pick a pass.
The whole team is going to have to drop a 10/10 performance next week if we are to stand a chance.
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That F365 match report is superb. And yes Rio Ferdinand is an idiot.
Also really good to meet and stand next to the legend that is dorsetvillan from these parts. Hope you get home ok mate.
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Agree with AV82FC's ratings, by and large.
Would emphasise that they were fearful of Rashford, and even though he was a marginal presence, especially in the second half, you could see why. He's a Rolls of a player, a thoroughbred. Was the first time I'd seen him in the flesh, it really struck me.
Onana did us a lot of good when he came on, and instigated the only period of sustained possession we had in the game.
It was unfortunate that, having taken off the specialist RB, Disasi was turned so easily by Kvara and within minutes.
Agree with this. When he was on the ball he looked a level above everybody else and their supporters were worried.
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I have not seen a team press us like they did - they were phenomenal.
Their midfield were like clockwork.
I thought we kept Dembele quite quiet but the Georgian fella and Doue were exceptional. Maybe we have to accept that these are a different level and we did well to do as well as we did.
Thought Rashford was a bit of a let down, he really only goes through the motions when challenging for headers with the CF so think he is better to be a wide player so Ollie being fully fit and full of energy to run at them.
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I have not seen a team press us like they did - they were phenomenal.
Their midfield were like clockwork.
I thought we kept Dembele quite quiet but the Georgian fella and Doue were exceptional. Maybe we have to accept that these are a different level and we did well to do as well as we did.
Thought Rashford was a bit of a let down, he really only goes through the motions when challenging for headers with the CF so think he is better to be a wide player so Ollie being fully fit and full of energy to run at them.
Good point. Rashford looked at his most dangerous whenever advancing up the left, but rarely through the middle and he did not venture to the right.
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The issue for Emery is that both Rashford and Ramsey are so much better on the left, but how do you play both?
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The issue for Emery is that both Rashford and Ramsey are so much better on the left, but how do you play both?
If Watkins is fit, you probably don't.
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The issue for Emery is that both Rashford and Ramsey are so much better on the left, but how do you play both?
If Watkins is fit, you probably don't.
Thought we missed Ollie as he leads our press higher up the pitch! Don't think it would have changed the result but I think tactically it might have been better?
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Was absolutely gutted, when the 3rd goal went in and thought we had virtually no hope of winning the tie, but after a nights sleep feeling a tad more positive. If we do it, it'll without doubt be the biggest comeback in our history.
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Well that was sobering.
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Rashford gave us a glimpse of what we have to look forward to if we sign him for next season. A couple of runs but, his work rate was woeful. A complete contrast to his team mates who ran their socks off all evening.
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I don't think he was supposed to be busting a gut. He was deliberately hanging on the half-way line in the hope we could get a ball over / through to him.
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This Rashford was lazy stuff is just tiresome bullshit and totally fails to understand what he’s there to do in this set up. Come on people try and keep up. The days of getting your shorts dirty and putting in a shift are best kept with your memories of rickets, white dog shit and a functioning Health Service.
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Someone earlier described Rashford as a thoroughbred . Totally agree with this , he is there to get goals and assists.
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I don't think he was supposed to be busting a gut. He was deliberately hanging on the half-way line in the hope we could get a ball over / through to him.
I thought he was pretty poor last night to be honest. We were under a lot of pressure at times and really needed him to be the outlet and a real threat on the occasions we did have opportunities.
As it was, he ended up giving the ball away too often and I thought he should have gone off earlier.
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I don't think he was supposed to be busting a gut. He was deliberately hanging on the half-way line in the hope we could get a ball over / through to him.
I thought he was pretty poor last night to be honest. We were under a lot of pressure at times and really needed him to be the outlet and real threat on the occasions we did have opportunities.
As it was, he ended up giving the ball away too often and I thought he should have gone off earlier.
I don't think that's unfair - just that his performance wouldn't have been made better by tearing around after their centre-backs, as that isn't what he was supposed to be doing.
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I thought we were pretty good. PSG (as Liverpool found out) have a team that are fast, agile, and technically excellent. Their first two goals were amazing, especially the second, where they went from back to front playing one touch football. We scored a very good one too, and at home I think we can get a couple back.
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Rashford gave us a glimpse of what we have to look forward to if we sign him for next season. A couple of runs but, his work rate was woeful. A complete contrast to his team mates who ran their socks off all evening.
I hope signing permanently isn't an objective. This 5 months jobbie works for him and us.
No way could we pay him 250k per week without upsetting others and without having to sell a couple as well.
Better options than he.
If ever a player needs a proper change of scenery it is him. Be it Germany or Italy.
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If we don't requalify for the Champions League there's no hope of keeping Rashford, or Ascencio anyway.
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First half I thought Rashford was good, second half poor. And did Jacob Ramsey look pretty pissed off when he was subbed, and I don't just mean disappointed?
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Dunno about no hope, but it's hard to see how the hole in the numbers gets filled. I don't think Asensio would be out of the question, but I'm pretty sure Rashford would be.
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Their third goal was very cleverly done, as they had two players tip tapping the ball to each other in midfield, looking like they'd settled for 2-1, and then bang, they'd scored.
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Well if we get through from here it's going to be one of the great European nights at Villa Park.
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I don't think he was supposed to be busting a gut. He was deliberately hanging on the half-way line in the hope we could get a ball over / through to him.
I thought he was pretty poor last night to be honest. We were under a lot of pressure at times and really needed him to be the outlet and real threat on the occasions we did have opportunities.
As it was, he ended up giving the ball away too often and I thought he should have gone off earlier.
I don't think that's unfair - just that his performance wouldn't have been made better by tearing around after their centre-backs, as that isn't what he was supposed to be doing.
They had so much of the ball, it would have been a pretty pointless exercise anyway as he was up there on his own and wouldn't have got near it.
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Maybe someone needs to man mark Vitinha next game as he is their engine room .
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Maybe someone needs to man mark Vitinha next game as he is their engine room .
Onana is my bet.
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6 years ago today we were playing Rotherham away. Not yet being as good as PSG in a CL QF is no disgrace.
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Man marking them won’t work, because of the way they interchange. The midfield do it almost as well as the forwards. If we try that they’ll just end up creating space and confusing us.
What we do need to do is get closer to them to pressure them and break the line. That’s what Onana did well. Ollie is key as well, he will help get the team up the pitch and give us a chance of engaging further up.
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The fact that we’re playing in a Champions League quarter final reminds us how far we have come in the last few years. The level that PSG showed last night demonstrates that there is still room for improvement.
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The difference when Ollie came on was that he was forcing the passes square by closing down the backwards passing, this forced them even narrower when playing in front of our back 6. He worked much harder than Rashford in doing this and to be fair our best passage of play was probably the last 10 minutes of normal time, where we created a couple of chances and had a little bit of pressure.
I'd start them both in the return leg.
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Yes it was great to meet AV82EC of these parts at the game. 2 of us are on are way back to Cherborg by train. The other two are trying to sort out how to get the broken down Volvo back to the UK as it's stranded in Caen. The local French Volvo dealership said they could look at it in 10 days time. Not ideal...
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I was feeling a bit deflated after their third last night, but we're still in with a shout. But fucking hell they sounded good.
It's all about moments that stick in the memory. The big ones are the trophies, obviously, but there's plenty more to be had. And listening to the radio when we scored last night, having been horribly outplayed, was a great one.
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Yes it was great to meet AV82EC of these parts at the game. 2 of us are on are way back to Cherborg by train. The other two are trying to sort out how to get the broken down Volvo back to the UK as it's stranded in Caen. The local French Volvo dealership said they could look at it in 10 days time. Not ideal...
Safe travels dv. Hopefully they can get the Volvo sorted. Doesn’t the owner have breakdown cover?
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He worked much harder than Rashford in doing this and to be fair our best passage of play was probably the last 10 minutes of normal time, where we created a couple of chances and had a little bit of pressure.
This is what i was alluding to when i said we seemed to chase it a bit more at 1-2 and ended up shipping a 3rd when we might have been better shutting up shop totally and accepting 1-2.
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Volvo 24/7 care which isn't living up to the promise in any way
Infact a shit show of incompetence...
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Volvo 24/7 care which isn't living up to the promise in any way
Infact a shit show of incompetence...
You have my sympathies.
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I guessed 2-1 to PSG beforehand so wasn’t far out. We defended low which was always going to be a risk if we saw a quick break. As the game expanded in the last 10-15 minutes we had more going forward but left more gaps.
Disasi was fine. However I wonder if a match-warmed Konsa had gone out right the 2nd goal might not have happened.
Onana looked very effective, perhaps against a tiring PSG midfield. Maybe some food for thought for Unai.
Their first 2 goals went in off the post. Clutching at straws but an inch either way might have been a different outcome.
Both sides are quite rightly getting plaudits this morning. It isn’t quite over yet, but we need to go hard next week. They might not like it up ‘em.
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I guessed 2-1 to PSG beforehand so wasn’t far out. We defended low which was always going to be a risk if we saw a quick break. As the game expanded in the last 10-15 minutes we had more going forward but left more gaps.
Disasi was fine. However I wonder if a match-warmed Konsa had gone out right the 2nd goal might not have happened.
Onana looked very effective, perhaps against a tiring PSG midfield. Maybe some food for thought for Unai.
Their first 2 goals went in off the post. Clutching at straws but an inch either way might have been a different outcome.
Both sides are quite rightly getting plaudits this morning. It isn’t quite over yet, but we need to go hard next week. They might not like it up ‘em.
Try and get crosses in, they were all over the shop the few times we did. Old skool shit is probably the way to go against this lot, start Onana, long throws etc.
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Volvo 24/7 care which isn't living up to the promise in any way
Infact a shit show of incompetence...
If they are anything like the Volvo in Southern France that my dad uses they probably won't even identify the problem.
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This Rashford was lazy stuff is just tiresome bullshit and totally fails to understand what he’s there to do in this set up. Come on people try and keep up. The days of getting your shorts dirty and putting in a shift are best kept with your memories of rickets, white dog shit and a functioning Health Service.
He could at least look like he is attempting to win the ball in the air. Like he did in his first minutes with us - maybe Chelsea? He cracked one of their defenders within minutes with an elbow.
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I keep telling myself we didn't get to the quarter -finals of the champions league without being a bit good. We can still do this.
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We gave it everything but were beaten by a very good team. The best team we’ve faced in a long time. They seemed to have more people on the pitch than us and closed us down all over the pitch when we had the ball.
Sometimes you just have to hold your hands up and say we were beaten by a better team. No criticism of any of our team on the night, they are the best team in this.
We can turn it around but will have to play better than we’ve even done under Emery and they will have to have an off night.
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Rio Ferdinand coming in for some criticism over last night's commentary. Of course PSG were superb but his constant gushing over them became very nauseating. He seemed to find it very difficult to give our boys any credit at all. Why they find it necessary to have him in the commentary box is a mystery. They already had the main commentator and Ally McCoist on co comms so what was the need for Ferdinand anyway?
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We're 9/1 to qualify BTW. Which is not that long at all. It's more likely than Leicester beating Brighton this weekend.
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Cash taking a yellow card so early on obviously didn't help but I was very disappointed the ref allowed almost identical fouls in similar positions by PSG players to go unpunished.
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Cash taking a yellow card so early on obviously didn't help but I was very disappointed the ref allowed almost identical fouls in similar positions by PSG players to go unpunished.
The ref was a homer, he was so ready to pull up any hint of a Villa challenge and waived play on if we were impeded.
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Cash taking a yellow card so early on obviously didn't help but I was very disappointed the ref allowed almost identical fouls in similar positions by PSG players to go unpunished.
The ref was a homer, he was so ready to pull up any hint of a Villa challenge and waived play on if we were impeded.
There were a couple of dubious decisions, as there are with almost every official, but I thought he was pretty good.
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I thought the ref got the big decisions correct, but agree about the smaller and the cynical stuff - PSG were allowed to repeat offend without consequence, but it felt like he blew for every little thing we did.
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I thought the ref got the big decisions correct, but agree about the smaller and the cynical stuff - PSG were allowed to repeat offend without consequence, but it felt like he blew for every little thing we did.
It was enough to keep the momentum with them when they needed it.
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Rio Ferdinand coming in for some criticism over last night's commentary. Of course PSG were superb but his constant gushing over them became very nauseating. He seemed to find it very difficult to give our boys any credit at all. Why they find it necessary to have him in the commentary box is a mystery. They already had the main commentator and Ally McCoist on co comms so what was the need for Ferdinand anyway?
He looks like jar jar binks and is thick as fuck
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Once we lost the “fear factor” of playing the “mighty PSG” we did ok. Cash was a red card waiting to happen so I got the sub but I’m afraid Disasi isn’t good enough to play right back against good players on this level. He looked star struck when he first came on, and we ended up with three players covering his position. I think I counted a back line of six at one point when we had the ball. That was down to Kamara/Morgan covering that right back position.
I thought we set up to not lose or at least keep the gap to one. Had it stayed at 1-2 I’d have fancied us to beat them at home by a goal and then it would have been the two best penalty keepers in the world going head to head. I’m not sure we can beat them by two or more.
Having said that, and being positive for a second - Rashford scares them to death. He was very good first half I thought, having the beating of Hakimi, who’s not too shabby as a right back. Even in the second half he was attracting four PSG to him when on the ball.
Also Donnarumma flaps … a lot! He came for one very early in the first half, missed it and chased it to the edge of the box.
So, not without hope but an uphill battle.
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Cash taking a yellow card so early on obviously didn't help but I was very disappointed the ref allowed almost identical fouls in similar positions by PSG players to go unpunished.
The ref was a homer, he was so ready to pull up any hint of a Villa challenge and waived play on if we were impeded.
There were a couple of dubious decisions, as there are with almost every official, but I thought he was pretty good.
Agreed, bar a couple I thought he was pretty balanced.
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Managed to re-watch the highlights , 3-1 was about right , they had quite a few big chances , Martinez some great saves , the offside goal too.
I think they'll be disappointed as we never really got our game going at all, there was zero out ball and we just kept giving it back to them .
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Rashford gave us a glimpse of what we have to look forward to if we sign him for next season. A couple of runs but, his work rate was woeful. A complete contrast to his team mates who ran their socks off all evening.
we're not going to sign him, though, are we?!
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I think to get to the next level we have to look after the ball better when under pressure .
Saying that i thought we defended well against a bloody good side
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I think with the Cash yellow card, the foul itself was a minor one, but it was perhaps his fourth foul of the game, and only 15 minutes in.
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Disappointed with the third goal, but proud as punch what we have achieved this season,I watched PSG play Liverpool who are a top class side and they could have scored at least 10 goals against them, yes you would expect PSG to progress to the semi finals, but I ain't giving up and if we lose out I will still wait to the end of the game to cheer them.
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Rashford gave us a glimpse of what we have to look forward to if we sign him for next season. A couple of runs but, his work rate was woeful. A complete contrast to his team mates who ran their socks off all evening.
we're not going to sign him, though, are we?!
It’s a bit harsh to write Rashford off after 1 perceived poor game, in a match where we had 25% possession, and he still managed to pre-assist the goal we did score.
He has still got plenty in the plus column since he arrived.
At least it gives people a rest from slagging off Ollie for all our issues.
I don’t think we’ll end up signing him, mainly cos it will be a very expensive deal to get over the line, and I’d be prioritising the permanent signing of Asensio.
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If we want to start thinking like a big club we have to be a bit disappointed with the result and performance last night. Yes that might sound harsh , but it's the level we need to be at . I'm sure Emery isn't happy, we are a bit lucky we are still in the tie and have a chance albeit a slim one in B6.
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I'm sure Emery isn't happy, we are a bit lucky we are still in the tie and have a chance albeit a slim one in B6.
My impression from his post-match interview was that the game panned out pretty much as he expected, and that pre-game he'd have been more than happy to go back to Villa Park trailing 2-1. Obviously their 3rd makes it more difficult, but he didn't seem that despondent about it.
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I'm sure Emery isn't happy, we are a bit lucky we are still in the tie and have a chance albeit a slim one in B6.
My impression from his post-match interview was that the game panned out pretty much as he expected, and that pre-game he'd have been more than happy to go back to Villa Park trailing 2-1. Obviously their 3rd makes it more difficult, but he didn't seem that despondent about it.
A 2-1 loss would have been a result for us given the way the game played out .
I still think we are in this but we need a different approach now . I don't see them playing that well again , but we need to up our game a couple of levels .
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I would imagine we played exactly how he wanted us to - they scored three great goals - and I think we expected them to get one or two.
Its a big ask - and if we could get the first goal I would really fancy us.
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Jesus, Central Paris is incredibly expensive for really shit beer and so-so wine. Enjoyed it though, apart from the traffic.
Third goal has killed us, if we could have just held on a minute longer we'd have a shot but I'm not expecting much now. I felt it was like one of the Europa games last year in reverse, we had a plan to keep it tight and it fell apart after those two incredible strikes, after that we just couldn't get back into the game, they wouldn't let us go up the gears. To be fair to them they were very impressive, on the rare occassions we got the ball their pressing was efficient and we just couldn't keep possession.
Watched in a bar in the Northern part of the centre, most of the PSG fans were fine and friendly, the younger ones could do with reminding they are no more authentic than the Saudi clubs and most of the Villa they were attempting to antagonise are older than their club.
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Volvo 24/7 care which isn't living up to the promise in any way
Infact a shit show of incompetence...
Hi DV, it was great to meet you and join you for the second half. I'm AV82EC's mate!
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Jesus, Central Paris is incredibly expensive for really shit beer and so-so wine. Enjoyed it though, apart from the traffic.
Third goal has killed us, if we could have just held on a minute longer we'd have a shot but I'm not expecting much now. I felt it was like one of the Europa games last year in reverse, we had a plan to keep it tight and it fell apart after those two incredible strikes, after that we just couldn't get back into the game, they wouldn't let us go up the gears. To be fair to them they were very impressive, on the rare occassions we got the ball their pressing was efficient and we just couldn't keep possession.
Watched in a bar in the Northern part of the centre, most of the PSG fans were fine and friendly, the younger ones could do with reminding they are no more authentic than the Saudi clubs and most of the Villa they were attempting to antagonise are older than their club.
Where were you drinking PW?
Am in Vietnam for work and there was a French bloke from Marseille at the conference I'm at. He hates them with a passion and reckons they have become very aggressive and arrogant, and he is terrified they may win it this season.
As you rightly say, they are so young that people actually know the date the club was founded. When i lived in Paris in the late 80s i used to tell my Sunday football teammates that i had a goldfish older than their club.
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Digs were in Rosny, which felt about as close to Paris as Croydon is to London. Spent both evenings around La Villette and the canal. Day of the game seemed to walk around most of the city along the Seinne but mainly around Trocadero and Victor Hugo.
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Digs were in Rosny, which felt about as close to Paris as Croydon is to London. Spent both evenings around La Villette and the canal. Day of the game seemed to walk around most of the city along the Seinne but mainly around Trocadero and Victor Hugo.
You're right about Rosny and Croydon. The Crystal Palace of the Paris suburbs!
The area around La Villette has changed a fair bit but the canal has always been lovely and much less explored than the Seine.
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Digs were in Rosny, which felt about as close to Paris as Croydon is to London. Spent both evenings around La Villette and the canal. Day of the game seemed to walk around most of the city along the Seinne but mainly around Trocadero and Victor Hugo.
We were staying at a hotel on Victor Hugo & also had lunch at the Troc. Watched the game at the Frog in 16 arr. and had a great night meeting up with lovely Villa fans. Then the 3rd goal went in & it all went a bit pear shaped!
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We went to the Frog in the early afternoon, joined the queue and then thought better of it and went elsewhere.