Aston Villa Vs PSG Highlights, Champions League Quarter-Final Second Leg: Parisians Sneak Into Semis With 5-4 Agg. Win

The second leg of the UEFA Champions League 2024-25 quarter-final between Aston Villa and Paris Saint-Germain will start at 12:30am IST. The match will be telecast on the Sony Sports Network TV channels in India. It will be live streamed on the SonyLiv app and website in the country.

Here is how Aston Villa and Paris Saint-Germain line up ahead of kick-off at Villa Park in Birmingham:

Though one never knows how the tide may turn, especially if Aston Villa get an early goal in, the advantage rests with Paris Saint-Germain without doubt. The Villans have been knocked out on each of the last two occasions where they have lost the first leg of a Champions League knockout match by two or more goals. In fact, no side has ever been eliminated in four UCL knockout ties when winning the first leg by two goals or more.

Then again, the home venue factor cannot be discounted. AVFC have been unbeaten in their last 17 matches across all competitions at Villa Park, and won each of their last four games there. Further, they have scored at least two goals in seven of their last eight matches at home, and boss Unai Emery has won 11 of his last 13 home matches in European competition.

The game begins, but not before a gaffe as the Europa League anthem is played in the lead-up to kick-off. Aston Villa earn an early corner and it's headed on by Youri Tielemans towards Marcus Rashford, but the star forward is unable to direct his header well enough.

Villa fans despair as the hosts concede an early goal. Argentine goalie Emiliano Martinez, in his attempt to intercept a pass in the box, palms the ball instead of collecting it and Achraf Hakimi latches on, striking it into the corner to extend PSG's aggregate lead to three goals. Villa really have their backs up against the wall now.

Villa's misery deepens. Another defensive lapse from the Lions sees them concede possession deep in their half, and Ousmane Dembele floats it through to Nuno Mendes, whose shot trickles in off the goalpost. It's 0-2 on the night and 1-5 in aggregate, and Villa need a miracle from here.

The Lions are not going down without a fight. They respond with a 34th-minute goal from Youri Tielemans, whose incisive run through the centre leads to a pass for John McGinn, who gives it back to Tielemans. The Belgian midfielder makes no mistake and pulls one back for Aston Villa. The aggregate is now 5-2 in favour of the Parisians.

The score stays at 1-2 at half-time in favour of PSG, with the aggregate lead a healthy three-goal one. Aston Villa have pulled one back to stay in the game, but the task ahead of them is still a monumental one.

The teams are back from the mid-game interval and the battle resumes at Villa Park. The Lions need (at least) three more goals to force extra time, so there's no doubt as to who will go all out for attack, and who will be happy to defend.

We are now witnessing a bonafide thriller. Aston Villa have scored twice in the space of two minutes to lead the game 3-2, and bring the aggregate to 4-5. Pau Torres and Marcus Rashford find the back of the net in the 55th and 57th minutes respectively to charge up the home crowd. One goal is all the Villans need to force extra time, provided they don't concede any.

We are now into added time and Aston Villa are still searching for that goal that would level up the tie. The clock is ticking by.

And that's that. The final whistle is blown after a nervy few moments in injury time and PSG scrape through to the Champions League semi-finals with a 5-4 win on aggregate. Aston Villa players and fans are expectedly disconsolate after coming so close to levelling the tie, but just falling short.

Paris Saint-Germain will now meet the winner of the quarter-final tie between Real Madrid and Arsenal (second leg on April 17), in a two-legged last-four clash. The first leg will see PSG go visiting their opponents on April 29, and the second and decisive leg will be hosted by the Parisians at Parc des Princes on May 6.