Aston Villa were ran ragged by a remarkably slick PSG side on Wednesday night.
Luis Enrique tactically outclassed Unai Emery as goals from Desire Doue, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Nuno Mendes put PSG in control ahead of the second leg at Villa Park.
There was – however – a scare for the Parisians as Morgan Rogers gave Aston Villa the lead in the 35th minute, tapping in after John McGinn, Marcus Rashford and Youri Tielemans combined excellently in the build up.
Now, Enrique has shared his thoughts on seeing Aston Villa take the lead inside the Parc des Princes.
Luis Enrique was shocked by Morgan Rogers goal
Speaking to TNT Sports after the 3-1 win, the Spaniard expressed some disgust at the fact his PSG side actually went 1-0 down, despite controlling the game for the opening 30 minutes and beyond.
Enrique – who could have joined Tottenham – said: “Well, I have to say, we were trying to control the game, trying to control the chances and we did it great, but they scored that goal. It was difficult to accept that, but I think we deserved to win.”
“We deserved to win and to score in the last minute, it was great for us.”
A delighted Luis Enrique reacts to PSG’s impressive performance tonight ⭐
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— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) April 9, 2025
PSG incredibly recorded 76% of the possession and made 841 passes compared to just 271 from the Villans.
The French giants also registered 29 shots in total – getting ten on target – whereas Aston Villa only took seven shots with two on target.
What Nuno Mendes said about Emiliano Martinez
2-1 would not have been a terrible scoreline for Emery to take back to Villa Park, but the crushing blow came from Mendes in the 92nd minute as the Portugal international gave PSG a cushion.
The PSG No.25 looked more like an experienced forward than a 22-year-old defender when he expertly chopped inside and finished beyond Emiliano Martinez, who Doue played down ahead of the tie, with his weaker right foot.
Composure personified 🥶
Nuno Mendes with a third for PSG in added time ⏰
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— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) April 9, 2025
Speaking after the game, Mendes admitted that the Argentina international helped him make up his mind by closing him down almost too tightly, telling the official PSG website: “My goal? I saw that the keeper was a bit close, so I tried to do something different and it worked, so I’m very happy about that.”
It was a rough night for Martinez, who received boos from the Parc des Princes faithful due to his starring role in Argentina’s World Cup final win over France in 2022, and he won’t want to see the strike from Mendes again anytime soon after being left embarrassed by the left-back.
