- PSG beat Aston Villa 3:1 in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final
- Desire Doue, Kvicha Kvaratskhelia, and Nuno Mendes scored after Rogers gave Villa the lead
- Paris extended their dominance after securing a fourth consecutive Ligue 1 title
Key Takeaways:
Paris Saint-Germain took a deserved advantage in their Champions League quarter-final battle with Aston Villa after a 3:1 win over the Birmingham side at their Parc des Princes. The French team, who just a few days ago secured their fourth consecutive league title, had clear dominance and could have achieved a more convincing result.
From the opening minutes, the hosts settled into Villa’s half. Dembélé fired over the goal, while a low shot Vitinha from the edge of the box was saved by the loudly booed Emiliano Martínez. In the eighth minute, Kvaratskhelia fell in the penalty area after contact with Kamara’s outstretched leg but immediately got back up, and the hosts’ appeals for a penalty were not upheld. The attack continued and ended with a fine shot by Dembélé, but Martínez responded well. In the 23rd minute, Dembélé made a run down the right, exchanged passes with Hakimi, then cut the ball back to the edge of the box for Vitinha, who struck well, but the ball went centimetres over the crossbar.
The first round is ours! 🔴🔵
🔜 See you next Tuesday at Villa Park! 👊THIS IS PARIS!!!#PSGAVFC 3-1 | @ChampionsLeague pic.twitter.com/fOcley9Blr
— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English) April 9, 2025
Despite their domination, PSG couldn’t convert it into goals, and they failed to create truly clear-cut chances. Aston Villa waited for their moment and in the 35th minute put together a brilliant counterattack to open the scoring. McGinn dispossessed Nuno Mendes just short of midfield, advanced, then found Rashford, who released Tielemans into the box. The Belgian sent a low cross to the far post where Morgan Rogers met it – 0:1.
The hosts responded very quickly. In the 39th minute, Doué took a shot, and Martínez got to it but allowed the ball to slip between his legs. He still managed to clear it right on the goal line. After the ensuing corner, the ball reached Doué again, this time on the left wing. He cut inside and unleashed a fantastic shot from the edge of the box. The ball hit the crossbar and went in for 1:1. In the minutes that followed, Doué looked highly inspired, but Martínez saved another one of his efforts, and then Konsa blocked the young striker after another excellent solo run.
In the 49th minute, PSG completed the comeback with a counterattack. Fabián Ruiz played an excellent ball from just past the halfway line to Kvaratskhelia, who advanced on the left, got past the clumsy Disasi—who had come on at half-time for Cash—and smashed a superb shot into the near post. Once again, the ball clipped the woodwork and went in beautifully for 2:1. In the 58th minute, the Parisians created another very good attack, ending with a Hakimi shot. Martínez, however, managed to push it away. Shortly after, Marco Asensio came on for Villa.
Just after the hour mark, the hosts had claims for a penalty due to a handball by Kamara, but no spot-kick was awarded. In the 71st minute, Kvaratskhelia set up Hakimi on the right, who slipped the ball through Martínez’s legs. However, the goal was correctly disallowed for offside.
In the final minutes, Aston Villa tried to push forward a bit more, but the visitors failed to create any real chances. In stoppage time, PSG made their lead more deserved, as Nuno Mendes received a perfect ball from Dembélé inside the box, wrong-footed Konsa, and slotted the ball into Martínez’s goal to seal the 3:1 win.