On Tuesday evening, Paris Saint-Germain lost 3-2 (Aston Villa/PSG video highlights) to Aston Villa in the second leg of the Champions League 2024-2025 quarter-finals (3-1 first leg, 4-5 aggregate) at Villa Park. Here’s a look at some of the highlights and lowlights of the match.
Tops –
Qualifying
We can put all the words on the Parisians’ woes this evening, but in the end, qualification is the only thing that counts. Reaching the semi-finals of the Champions League means securing a place in the last four and, who knows, maybe even the final. Paris had to hold on, and they did, albeit painfully, but in soccer, nothing is written in advance.
Donnarumma: the authoritative response
Denigrated and booed on the internet, Donnarumma responded in the best possible way. For several Champions League matches now, he’s here, with his strengths, without mistakes. It was a fine game, and it must not be said that Paris had to rely on its goalkeeper. Everyone knows that you need a great goalkeeper to go all the way. Gigio is just such a keeper.
Dembélé
It’s hard to put him at the top of his game, as he was generally below his best. But his attitude on the pitch is good, his attitude in front of the press is good. The man of the match (we didn’t understand why) made it clear that he wasn’t satisfied with the result. His lack of a smile shows that the team is going to stay focused.
Flops –
3 goals, a retreating defense
How can you defend so badly, if not with fear in your stomach? Because this PSG team was more beaten by itself than by Aston Villa. They needed to be more solid, more sure-footed and more compact, and the Parisians strangely played too close to the Villans. Beware: in the semi-finals, conceding so many goals won’t get you through to the final.
Vitinha
Very average on Tuesday, he lost the petrol in his engine and was often out of sync, which is a shame for the master of time. Losing balls and doing very little defensively, he had his worst game of the season. The Parisian midfielder lost the battle.
Kvaratskhelia
Between the first and second legs, he completely disappeared from the scene. He was too much in the thick of things, not putting the team ahead of himself offensively. Defensively, he was good.
