Paris Saint-Germain booked their spot in the Champions League semi-finals with a dramatic 5-4 aggregate victory over Aston Villa, surviving a second-half scare despite losing 3-2 in Tuesday’s second leg.
Already holding a 3-1 lead from the first leg, PSG looked set for a comfortable night when full-backs Achraf Hakimi and Nuno Mendes struck inside the opening 27 minutes to put the visitors 2-0 up and 5-1 ahead on aggregate.
But Aston Villa staged a spirited fightback. Youri Tielemans gave the home side hope with a deflected goal just before half-time, before John McGinn and Ezri Konsa scored in quick succession early in the second half, cutting the aggregate score to 5-4.
PSG, once again haunted by their history of European collapses, were saved by a string of crucial stops from Gianluigi Donnarumma, who denied Marcus Rashford and Tielemans in the closing stages to preserve the aggregate lead.
The night had an awkward start for Villa Park as the Europa League anthem was mistakenly played instead of the Champions League theme—a mix-up on an otherwise electric evening for Villa fans, including Prince William and his son, George, who witnessed their team’s best European showing in decades.
Bradley Barcola, preferred to Desire Doue despite the latter’s heroics in the first leg, justified his selection by creating the opener—his low cross spilled by Emiliano Martinez into the path of Hakimi, who made no mistake. Minutes later, Ousmane Dembélé cut through the Villa defence and set up Mendes for his second goal of the tie.
Villa refused to back down. Tielemans’ strike brought them back into the match, and the stadium erupted when McGinn’s deflected shot flew into the top corner to level the second leg. Rashford, starting ahead of Ollie Watkins in a bold call by Unai Emery, nearly added another but was denied by a world-class save from Donnarumma.
From the resulting corner, Rashford nutmegged Fabian Ruiz, dribbled past Vitinha, and squared for Konsa to finish at the near post—bringing Villa within one goal of forcing extra time.
The momentum was with the hosts, but their finishing let them down. Konsa missed a key header, Tielemans was denied again, and Asensio saw a late chance blocked. PSG regained control after Watkins replaced Rashford and could have extended their aggregate lead, but Martinez made late saves from Hakimi and Doue.
In stoppage time, a last-ditch block from Willian Pacho denied Ian Maatsen and kept Villa dreaming until the final whistle. Despite the loss, Villa exit with pride after surpassing expectations in their first Champions League campaign since 1983.
For PSG, the quest to finally lift the European crown continues—and this season may be their best shot yet. With the Ligue 1 title already secure, full focus turns to May 31 in Munich. They’re likely to face Arsenal next, with the Gunners holding a 3-0 lead over reigning champions Real Madrid ahead of their second leg.
In the other semi-final, Barcelona await the winner of the Inter Milan vs. Bayern Munich clash—setting the stage for a thrilling final four.
