Unai Emery wants Aston Villa to be “protagonists” when they are confronted with Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday in the first stage of their quarterfinals of the Champions League.
The Spaniard is preparing for a “special and spectacular” return to Parc des Princes, where he was in charge of PSG for two seasons between 2016 and 2018.
He does this with a Villa side full of Momentum, after he has secured a top-night finish before he rode a 6-1 total victory over Clubbrugge in the last 16.
They also won each of their last seven games in all competitions and let themselves fall into the fight for a second consecutive top-four Premier League finish in the process.
And Emery is aimed at leading villa to consistent success at the highest level in Europe.
Tomorrow night. pic.twitter.com/tdledzqskc
– Aston Villa (@AVFCofficial) April 8, 2025
“When I came to Aston Villa, it was a challenge. I wanted to win titles to be in Europe,” he told reporters during his press conference before the competition. “Being in the Champions League is incredible, but doing consistently is my next challenge.
“Playing in Paris, a quarter -final, is something special and spectacular for all of us who are involved in this club. But we want to be consistent at this level. We are confident that we have opportunities and can enjoy ourselves.
“What I have done here is in my backpack. It is especially for me to be back in Paris, especially because of the circumstances. I try to fulfill my responsibility for the club where I am, to get the best out of the team, from the players.
“[PSG are] Playing fantastic football. They compete, what the Luis Enrique teams have always done, dominating with superiority in the competition and in the Champions League. They showed enormous power against Liverpool.
“In the urgent they are very good with the players they have, and they are so aggressive and intense in every action they do over the field. We want to compete and be protagonists on the field.”