The hard-earned progress of Paris Saint-Germain in the semi-final of the Champions League exposed some of their weaknesses to Luis Enrique, but he also saw it as an important milestone for his young side.
PSG walked past Aston Villa through a 5-4 total score, although their qualification was much less comfortable than it could have been after two early goals in a raw villa Park placed them 5-1 in the draw.
After fighting back to arrive, Villa had many opportunities to level the draw – in particular through Youri Tielemans and Ezri Konsa – and ended the second stage with 17 shots worth 2.05 expected goals (XG).
Only Liverpool (19) and Bayern Munich (18) tried more shots against PSG this season in a Champions League match, with only the last (2.41) that Villas XG figure improved.
But unlike in previous years, when collapses defined their European campaigns, PSG clung to reach the last four, bow in the light of strict pressure, but not breaking.
PSG had done the hard work in Paris, where a commander 3-1 win gave them the upper hand, with the late goal of Nuno Mendes ultimately decided.
“It wasn't our best game, that's clear,” said Luis Enrique. “But what I saw was a team that was sitting together. And that is new.”
PSG is now advanced from their last four Champions League quarter final tires and reached the semi-final in general for the fifth time and a fourth time in the last six seasons.
For years the story of PSG's Champions League had been one of disappointment. The “Remontada” of 2017 by a Barcelona team coached by Luis Enrique, who managed a 6-1 second leg win after PSG had a 4-0 advantage of the first leg, remains a painful scar.
PSG almost threw away a 5-1 aggregated lead with two-thirds of their draw.
Barcelona was dominated more in the past decade than any other #UCL quart finalist.
Their semi-final opponents may have enjoyed looking at them.
@alitweedalehttps: //t.co/u4qguqq76b
– Opta Analyst (@Optaanalyst) April 16, 2025
On Tuesday, goals from Achraf Hakimi and Mendes PSG have good control over the draw, only for Tielemans, John McGinn and Konsa to score while Villa fought back.
It was the first time that PSG had not succeeded in winning a Champions League match when he led at least two goals versus Deportivo de la Coruna since March 2001, but Villa could not find the margin of two goals of the victory they needed, largely thanks to Gianluigi Donnarumma.
After seeing the Italy International, a stunning salvation has made Tielemans a goal that would have forced extra time, said Captain Marquinhos: “I have experienced difficult moments, so I will enjoy this one.
“But we stayed together in the light of adversity. Now we have to improve because these types of mistakes are not allowed in the semi -final.”
PSG takes on Arsenal of Real Madrid in the semi -final while they continue to hunt for a very first European crown.
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