After dispatching a good Club Brugge side 6-1 over two legs in the Champions League, Aston Villa have now set up a date with Paris Saint-Germain in the quarter-finals.
Unai Emery’s Villa side were excellent against their Belgian opposition both home and away, giving confidence that they can cause an upset against PSG.
In truth, the Parisiens played Liverpool off of the park over both legs, which is no easy feat given how good they’ve been under Arne Slot this season.
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Of course, it should be remembered that Villa came close to beating that same Liverpool side in the Premier League last month, when they eventually drew 2-2.
And with Marco Asensio and Marcus Rashford improving by the game after their January arrival, there’s certainly reason to remain optimistic.
Rio Ferdinand says how Aston Villa beat Paris Saint-Germain
That being said, Rio Ferdinand shared his verdict on whether Villa might be able to get past PSG in the next round when covering their win against Club Brugge for TNT Sports.
Speaking alongside former Villa defender Alan Hutton, Ferdinand was convinced about PSG’s quality but could see how Emery’s side might be able to pull off a famous result.
Asked about Villa’s home form being a big factor, Ferdinand replied: “Yeah one hundred percent – I’m not saying this tie is over, I’m not saying they are absolute runaway favourites.
“I’m just saying that they’ve been the most impressive team that I’ve seen, especially in that game in Paris against a team in Liverpool who in our country, in the Premier League, we were going ‘they’re the team to beat, they’re champions elect’ and I really thought they made them look like a normal team in that first game – were best over the two legs.
“But I agree with Alan, they have an experienced manager here who can build this team and structure it in a way which will make things difficult and ask questions of this Paris Saint-Germain team.
“If they can do that and they can get this PSG team back here with something to play for here – we’ve seen the atmosphere that is generated here, it’s going to be a mouth watering proposition.”
Marco Asensio will face parent club PSG in the quarter-finals
Of course, it’ll be a big moment for Asensio when he faces his parent club in next month’s quarter-finals – the Spaniard will be eligible to face PSG.
Villa will surely be looking to buy the former Real Madrid midfielder in the summer who has made such a superb impact since joining.
PSG have set their asking price for Asensio, one that Monchi should deem very reasonable.
And as Ferdinand mentions, Emery’s side simply need to keep the game in the balance following their first-leg in Paris.
Villa create a raucous atmosphere at Villa Park, and although PSG weren’t deterred by the ‘Anfield-factor’, they might have a tougher time in the west Midlands.
