Paris Saint-Germain and Aston Villa faced off this Tuesday at Villa Park in the second leg of the Champions League 2024-2025 quarter-finals (3-1 first leg, 4-5 aggregate). The match ended in a 3-2 defeat for Paris (Aston Villa/PSG video highlights). After the match, the English team’s coach Unai Emery spoke at a press conference.
Emery “We can be proud of what we’ve achieved.”
How did you feel after the match?
We played two games. In the first one, we did the plan and were fantastically competitive. The 3rd goal didn’t change much at that point, we were very proud. There was hardly anything missing for a good result.
Tonight, we had the opportunity to come back. We had to win, but by two goals. It’s not often a big difference, sometimes it’s very big. Tonight, it was huge because we needed two goals. But we were fantastic, and the players followed the plan very well. PSG suffered against our pressure, and right now we’re missing that last minute in Paris.
In the last 20 minutes today, we perhaps didn’t push even harder to get the result we wanted. We can be happy, proud, comfortable with our work. But to get to the next level, it’s the transition they make in the first half… We can be proud of what we’ve achieved. But we still hope to improve.
The fans have been great, they’ve passed on their energy. We need to keep going like this. Playing in Europe next year is our goal.
Emery “I’m proud to see that the players followed the game plan.”
Anything positive to keep in mind despite the elimination?
In our process, tonight was the best level we could have reached. It was a big test in the Champions League and I’m very proud of the team’s response. I’m confident of our progress. Even if we’re eliminated. We hope to be back in the Champions League soon, that’s our goal for the end of the season. Not forgetting the FA Cup.
We had chances, we defended well and we picked up high balls. We knew the risks we were taking with the goals we conceded, but I’m proud to see that the players followed the game plan. In fact, we responded very well. We just needed a little more at this level.
Emery “a clear title contender.”
Can PSG win the Champions League?
Of course, they’re the favourites, they’re in the semi-finals. It’ll be against Arsenal or Real Madrid, but they’re a clear contender for the title. It’s fantastic to play at this level. I really enjoyed playing against PSG. They showed their qualities in both games, even if we managed to win that one. They’re very competitive.
Were you unhappy about the extra time?
I have to accept it. We had enough time to score another goal. We didn’t, so we have to accept that and congratulate PSG.
