Aston Villa’s dominance to reach UEFA Champions League quarter finals but face mammoth challenge against PSG

National World - LocalTV

Aston Villa’s impressive dominance has propelled them to the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals, marking a remarkable achievement for the club. However, they now face a mammoth challenge against French giants PSG, whose star-studded lineup will test Villa’s resilience and quality on the biggest stage.

Transcript

00:00Now, Aston Villa's performance in the Champions League has been exceptional, with the team

00:07reaching the quarter-finals for the first time in their recent history. Their journey

00:11through the competition has been marked by impressive displays of skill, determination

00:16and tactical discipline. Villa's ability to compete against some of Europe's best has

00:21showcased their growth as a formidable force on the continental stage, with standout performances

00:27from key players and a strong team effort. I spoke to Charlie Haffenden of Birmingham

00:33World to highlight their ambitions in European football and the journey so far.

00:38Charlie, an incredible situation for Aston Villa as they find themselves in the Champions

00:44League last eight. I mean, a lot of Villa fans will be pinching themselves seeing how

00:48far they've come in this trajectory. We've mentioned it so many times, the sort of changes,

00:53the high expectations, the levels that Unai Emery and his team have set since he's come

00:58in and such a fast change as well. I mean, it could have all gone so wrong if goal-line

01:03technology worked a few years ago against Sheffield United. I mean, what would have

01:07happened in that situation? They find themselves in the last eight of the Champions League.

01:12I mean, let's look at the tie as a whole against Bruise. They went away and won and they're

01:17home and dominated in that second half especially. What was the difference over the two legs

01:22and how confident can they feel now? I mean, it's almost as if they've got nothing to lose

01:28in this last day.

01:29Yeah, I mean, reaching this point was never the expectation. Finishing the top eight of

01:33the league phase, that was incredible on its own. They would have absolutely taken a playoff

01:38spot before the campaign got underway. And then, of course, you might not even get through

01:41the playoffs to get to the last 16, let alone the last eight, to set up a tie against Paris

01:46Saint-Germain. What an incredible achievement that was. But Bruise away last week, I think

01:51was a little bit questionable, the performance, to be honest. Bruise easily could have gone

01:54and won that 3-4-0 themselves. Had so many opportunities. Incredible goal-line clearance

01:59from Tyrone Ming saved Villa. And then just at the end, there was a bit of a flurry as

02:04Villa went on to win 3-1. Not the best performance, but getting the early goal from Leon Bailey

02:08certainly helped. And then the return leg, the pressure's off. You got a two-goal advantage

02:12at Villa Park. And then there's a sending off for their right-back Sabe just 16 minutes

02:17in when Rashford was taken down as the last man. What a pass that was from Emi Martinez

02:21to find Rashford over the top. And then you're thinking, okay, you got the two-goal advantage,

02:26the numerical advantage. Bruise were actually the better team before halftime, had so much

02:30of the ball, but Villa able to contain them. And then, well, that first 15 minutes of that

02:34second half just absolutely blew them away. Marco Asensio off the bench, an incredible

02:38performance from him. Another brace. He's now had three braces in five appearances at

02:43Villa Park. He's had seven goals in eight appearances in total. And that's actually

02:47matching his goals tally from his entire career at Paris Saint-Germain over two years. So

02:52it's just amazing the start that he's made and obviously getting Villa to that quarterfinals

02:56has played a very key role in doing that.

02:58Yeah, I mean, Asensio's quality is clearly there. Do you feel maybe a few Villa fans,

03:05the younger generation possibly, he could be one of the best players they've ever seen

03:09in a Villa shirt?

03:11I think he's got to be up there. I mean, I remember when Coutinho joined and kind of

03:14the hype around him, the calibre, the reputation he had. The first six months on his loan,

03:20he did very well, didn't quite go well after that point. They'll be hoping it's not a repeat

03:24of that because Asensio can be a quality player in this system. Playing as a number 10, I

03:28think he was wasted out on the right wing for PSG. And even then he was mainly coming

03:32off the bench because they got so many options there. But being at number 10, it just allows

03:37him to arrive late into the box, getting those goalscoring positions. And we've seen

03:41how clinical he can be. We're not going to talk about transfers, but he was quite happy

03:46to talk about Asensio and how well he fits into the system. So I think if they can get

03:50that over the line, it'll be so important for them.

03:54And PSG, I mean, arguably the best team in Europe this season. Obviously, they win the

04:02French League most years. Incredible record in their own domestic situation. They haven't

04:07quite gone all the way in the Champions League. For Aston Villa, as I say, it seems they've

04:12got nothing to lose. But Unai Emery will certainly want to give them a real good account in this

04:16game.

04:17Absolutely. I think it is a bit of a free hit, this one, because you're not expecting

04:21to go and win. Of course, they're going to try their absolute best to go and do that

04:24and try and set up a semi-final against Real Madrid or Arsenal. It's not an expected thing.

04:29Just that squad is incredible, the form that they're in. And then they're doing well enough

04:32as it is before January, and then they go and bring in Varuk Skellige from Napoli. I

04:36mean, do they really need him? It'll be a very, very tough task for Villa to beat them,

04:40but they'll try their best and Emery is a proper man for Europe.

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