What a scare! Very calm after their 3-1 victory at the Parc des Princes in the first leg, the Parisians traveled to Birmingham to Aston Villa's home ground this Tuesday evening with confidence. But the match's outcome drove the Parisian fans crazy, with all the comebacks still fresh in their minds.
two faces
After a generally controlled first period, Luis Enrique's men returned to the locker room with the advantage on the scoreboard (1 - 2). That's a 3-goal lead over the two matches... Both full-backs, Achraf Hakimi and Nuno Mendes, have scored. There are 45 minutes left. Paris has nothing to fear. They're in control.
The problem is that the Parisians who returned to the pitch were nothing like those who started the match. : lack of intensity, lack of serenity, lack of accuracy, lack of everything. Aston Villa puts on hellish pressure and Paris panics.
The Villans equalize with a sublime (deflected) strike from John McGinn (2-2, 55th). Everything is linked.
Before the hour mark, Marcus Rashford wandered through the desperate Parisian defense and found Erzi Konsa, who scored with a flat foot (3-2, 57th). It's fire! Paris Saint-Germain has a knack for getting itself into trouble and reminding itself of its old demons...
Giant Donnarumma, lost Marquinhos
The final half-hour was stifling. Luis Enrique didn't dare make many changes to his team, aside from the introduction of Désiré Doué in place of Bradley Barcola. The Spanish coach has some top-notch substitutes, but entering such a match isn't necessarily a gift either.
Captain Marquinhos is taking on the tide, just like the entire team, or almost. They're no longer there; there's too much space between the lines, and they can't seem to regroup.
Paris hunkers down, trying to weather the storm. Paris doesn't crack, but it's a small miracle... And it also ends up acquiring numerous (poorly negotiated) counters.
Emiliano Martinez makes a few decisive saves, having been largely at fault for the opening goal. Paris is on the edge, falling back into its old ways, but Aston Villa lacks a bit of talent to force destiny. Until the end, and a rescue from Pacho, Paris trembles. But ends up getting out of it.
Gianluigi Donnarumma delivered a masterclass, just like at AnfieldThe Italian goalkeeper, much maligned by those who clearly know little about football, had a perfect evening. He repelled the English attacks one by one. The savior of the evening. Oddly enough, Ousmane Dembélé received the man of the match award. Honestly, only Donnarumma deserved that title tonight.
First away defeat in 18 matches, but no matter, Paris has qualified for the Champions League semi-finals for the fourth time in six seasons! That's what we must remember. And learn from the immense difficulties of this second half at Villa Park.
