PSG survive Aston Villa onslaught to reach Champions League semis
Despite a 3-2 defeat in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final against Aston Villa on Tuesday, Paris St Germain advanced to the semi-finals with a 5-4 aggregate score, keeping their hopes of winning their first Champions League title alive.
- Sports
- Reuters
- Published Date: 11:59 | 15 April 2025
- Modified Date: 12:02 | 16 April 2025
Paris St Germain kept alive their dream of a first Champions League title on Tuesday by squeezing past Aston Villa 5-4 on aggregate after a thrilling second leg of their quarter-final which the English side won 3-2.
Ahead 3-1 from the first leg, PSG appeared to have sealed the contest within the first half-hour as their marauding fullbacks Achraf Hakimi and Nuno Mendes scored from two flowing counter-attacks to stun the Villa Park crowd.
But Youri Tielemans revived hope with a 34th-minute deflected goal before Villa stunned the visitors early in the second half with two goals in two minutes from John McGinn and Ezri Konsa.
Villa poured forward, drawing a string of outstanding saves from PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma to preserve the aggregate win and enable his side to move into a semi-final against either Real Madrid or Arsenal.