Aston Villa v PSG Post-Match Thread

[Mister E]

You watched a different Cash to me mate.

Possibly because Nelly didn't watch with his head up his bottom. Cash was outstanding on the whole.
P.S. Find anything of interest up there?

I think Cash is mostly shit even to the point that he knows it himself and tries to hide now and then. (... runs for cover ...)

Your judgement is obviously questionable, sir!
Credit where it's due: he played well last night.

[Bent Neilsens Screamer]

You watched a different Cash to me mate.

Possibly because Nelly didn't watch with his head up his bottom. Cash was outstanding on the whole.

P.S. Find anything of interest up there?

I think Cash is mostly shit even to the point that he knows it himself and tries to hide now and then. (... runs for cover ...)

That may be so but you can’t fault his performance last night against one of the best wide players in Europe, he was struggling in the last 10 but still managed to get the the touchline and whip that cross in for Maatsen at the end. He was part of a great team performance and can hold his head high with the rest of them.

[dave shelley]

The attitude of both players/coaching staff and crowd showed a passion beyond belief, go back to 2016 and consider just how far we have progressed. Last night showed the world, that as far as I'm concerned Aston Villa is the bedrock football was built on.  I'm immensely proud.

[ChicagoLion]

You watched a different Cash to me mate.

Possibly because Nelly didn't watch with his head up his bottom. Cash was outstanding on the whole.

P.S. Find anything of interest up there?

Peices of shit like you.

[Astnor]

You watched a different Cash to me mate.

Possibly because Nelly didn't watch with his head up his bottom. Cash was outstanding on the whole.
P.S. Find anything of interest up there?

I think Cash is mostly shit even to the point that he knows it himself and tries to hide now and then. (... runs for cover ...)

Your judgement is obviously questionable, sir!
Credit where it's due: he played well last night.

Yes might be I took that too far but for sure he divides opinions on here. I do try again and state that he has his moments of doing alright but also seems to not being up to it at other times

[Sexual Ealing]

One of the great VP nights, quite possibly the future  winners, were fighting desperately to keep us out at the end. Pundits are saying PSG were the better over the 2 legs, well when it comes to chances created, they certainly weren't the better team. MOTM for me was SJM he was magnificent, I rarely criticise Unai, but couldn't understand why he was subbed.

The second half last night was breathtaking, to the extent that we deserved to force extra time, but to say they weren't the better side over two legs is demented.

[artvandelay]

Errors and missed chances did for us in the end. Incredibly brave performance.
The ref did all he could to help them on his way. Even worse than the first leg.
Villa Park should ban drums.

We absolutely should, and we should advertise the fact that we do and be proud of it in the hope others will follow suit.

This kind of aresholery has no place in English football, anti-social bullshit, football equivalent of those peanut brained twats with exploding exhausts.

I love our European home games and having the visitors in the ground and around the City but I have no truck with the constant noise the continental fans make. After a while it turns into a drone and never reflects what is actually happening on the pitch. Our support followed the pattern of the game, from the crescendo at the start to the low hum of acceptance at 0-2, noisy optimism at HT to the roar of the comeback, ending with a huge wave of appreciation and pride at the end. Rather that than what PSG "offered" last night, and the "flag" display was the least intimidating thing I have ever seen, looked like a parody of a Trade Union protest.

Other thing I've noticed both with the away fans and on my travels around the continent is that the 'Ultras' don't properly cheer goals. They keep on with whichever Pet Shop Boys song they happen to be covering at the given time with some minor applause.

[Legion]

You watched a different Cash to me mate.

Possibly because Nelly didn't watch with his head up his bottom. Cash was outstanding on the whole.

P.S. Find anything of interest up there?

Peices of shit like you.

Cut it out.

[Archbishop Herbert Cockthrottle]

Errors and missed chances did for us in the end. Incredibly brave performance.
The ref did all he could to help them on his way. Even worse than the first leg.
Villa Park should ban drums.

We absolutely should, and we should advertise the fact that we do and be proud of it in the hope others will follow suit.

This kind of aresholery has no place in English football, anti-social bullshit, football equivalent of those peanut brained twats with exploding exhausts.

I love our European home games and having the visitors in the ground and around the City but I have no truck with the constant noise the continental fans make. After a while it turns into a drone and never reflects what is actually happening on the pitch. Our support followed the pattern of the game, from the crescendo at the start to the low hum of acceptance at 0-2, noisy optimism at HT to the roar of the comeback, ending with a huge wave of appreciation and pride at the end. Rather that than what PSG "offered" last night, and the "flag" display was the least intimidating thing I have ever seen, looked like a parody of a Trade Union protest.

Other thing I've noticed both with the away fans and on my travels around the continent is that the 'Ultras' don't properly cheer goals. They keep on with whichever Pet Shop Boys song they happen to be covering at the given time with some minor applause.

That's exactly it. The whole ultras thing is a farce and not much more than a bunch of cheerleaders in black totally oblivious to what's happening on the pitch. I find them tedious and dull.

[The Edge]

There's a difference between blame and criticism and I think the latter has been levelled at the Ref by most. The foul count did indicate something amiss, he gave them all the 50/50's but we need to overcome that sort of thing and nearly did....

This is the thing. Europe doesn't like us for a number of reasons. We exported hooliganism in the 80s/90s then we had the inception of Sky with all it's riches and then they had to put up with the likes of Chelsea and Man Ci£y lauding over them with all their dodgy cash. Then we voted for Brexit because we thought we could do better without Johnny foreigner. If we're going to win anything in Europe we have to literally be unstoppable. We have to overcome teams and dodgy officials by playing great football and I sincerely believe we can achieve that under Emery. The man's a fucking legend in my eyes.

[wince]

Cash is someone who tries but does feel all fart no shit at times. For me McGinn was MotM and suspect him coming off was to protect us from going down to 10 men as he did have a red mist about him.

Torres balls played were sublime. Felt that Rashford in the first half was awful but redeemed in the second. Ollie looked absolutley up for it when he came on but didnt really make an impact at all. Rogers continues to frustrate as it seems always one touch too much.

The subs really broke the momentum but just wasnt our night in the end.

Other fans on social media (with exception of the pisspot trophy bottlers) praising us and we need to get a move on to qualify again next season as some of our games this season will be just like the 1st leg 92nd minute goal leaving us dreaming of what should have been.

This is a team to die for with the best manager I have seen in my lifetime managing us. Future is bright

[PeterWithe]

Yeah I'm another who isn't a fan of the 'Ultra' bullshit, we invented fan culture so they can all fuck off.

Half naked sweaty bald men in balaclavas pawing each other and dancing to a monotonous beat, all very continental. Exhibitionism not seen since TinTins closed.

But not in front of the children please. 

[SaddVillan]

This is the match report/review from L'Equipe - France's national daily sportspaper.

Champions League
PSG get a scare but reach the Champions League semi-finals

After taking a two-goal lead against Aston Villa on Tuesday evening, PSG were seriously buffeted by Unai Emery's team, who came close to overturning the first leg deficit (3-1). But Paris held firm (2-3) and qualified for the semi-finals, where they will face either Arsenal or Real Madrid.

Paris Saint-Germain had taken a big step towards qualification with their 3-1 victory in the first leg, but Luis Enrique's players were expecting another tough encounter on the Aston Villa pitch this Tuesday evening. They were seriously tossed around, even on the verge of breaking down during a rather crazy match, in which the English side found the weapons to make PSG doubt themselves.

And yet, the French champions had the good taste to take an early lead. The Villans were caught out by a transitional pattern launched by a crunching pass from Nuno Mendes to Bradley Barcola. And while the latter's crushed cross didn't reach Ousmane Dembélé, Emiliano Martinez gave Achraf Hakimi a helping hand after the Argentinian goalkeeper's missed clearance (1-0, 11th minute). And then? With a three-goal lead over the two matches, PSG seemed to want to play for time, and above all, they left Villa with space. Pau Torres, who was denied by Donnarumma (19th minute), and Morgan Rogers (24th minute) had their chances, but British hopes were then dashed by a second French goal, from a shot by Nuno Mendes, already on target in the first leg, set up by Ousmane Dembélé (28th minute). Paris then led 2-0 on its only two attempts of the match.

The Villa Revolt
But even in a silent stadium, where only the 2,400 supporters of the capital club could be heard, [think his hearing aid was wonky] Aston Villa did not give up. And the players of Unai Emery, the coach who had endured the famous Barcelona comeback with PSG in 2017, gradually made up the deficit. Youri Tielemans, well assisted by the chest of Pacho, capitalized on a strong period for the home team (1-2, 34th)... which called for more after the break, a period when PSG sank. If Donnarumma was present for a point-blank shot from Marcus Rashford (52nd), the Italian goalkeeper had to admit defeat on the cheeky long-range strike from John McGinn, it seemed slightly deflected by Pacho, again (2-2, 55th). The Ecuadorian and his teammates were then behind in all the opposing duels and passing, which forced Donnarumma into two classy saves in front of Rashford (57th) and then Tielemans (60th). But, in the meantime, Aston Villa had managed to take the lead with a low shot from Ezri Konsa, ideally served by Rashford in the box (3-2, 57th).

While PSG struggled to resurface, Marco Asensio came close to making it 4-2, putting Aston Villa level on aggregate, but the Spaniard, on loan from PSG this winter, lost his one-on-one against Donnarumma (70th). After this flurry of action, Paris was finally able to create more chances. But Dembélé lacked the luck (65th, 76th) or the clarity to serve Désiré Doué instead of shooting (78th).

After a frenzied final few minutes, including a 93rd-minute save from Pacho, PSG finally snatched a spot in the semi-finals, where they will face either Arsenal or Real Madrid.


The Man: A Saving Donnarumma
The goalkeeper has been heavily criticized for his subpar performances in PSG's previous campaigns, but this time he has emerged as one of the team's key players, and on Tuesday night, the capital club owed their qualification largely to their Italian international. While he conceded three goals, he made five saves at Villa Park, and all of them were difficult to come by.

To resist Aston Villa, the 2021 European champion brought out his full range: a reflex save against Torres (19th), another from close range in front of Rashford (52nd), a stretch save on another shot from the Englishman (57th), a tap to wipe his right corner after a header from Tielemans (60th) and a stretch save by staying on his feet until the end in front of Asencio. Decisive in previous rounds, and notably against Liverpool, Donnarumma has changed a lot.

[Baldy]

Just so proud of each and every one of them.

The disappointment felt at the end of the match will spur us on to be FA Cup winners and top 5 in the league.

Unai will 'bottle' that disappointment and turn it to our advantage.

Onwards and upwards.

[Bosco81]

I thought last night was one of those special nights, I can't remember the last time I watched such an intense game.

Really proud of the team, and the way the vast majority of the fans stayed to clap the players off the pitch was something I'd not seen before.

To go toe to toe with that Paris team shows what a good team we are, their movement and speed running off the ball was remarkable, the 2 full backs and Vitinha were a cut above anything I'd seen before.

But to have them on the ropes still with over half an hour to go was a brilliant achievement, and we're in a great place to finish the last "hopefully" 8 games of the season off with a trophy and another crack at the European Cup.