Unai Emery insisted that he had not lost the conviction of Aston Villa can reach the semi-finals of the Champions League despite their 3-1 defeat in the first leg of their quarter-final with Paris Saint-Germain.
The Outsidogs Villa had been on the new cloud when they opened the scoring in the first half thanks to Morgan Rogers, but were brought back to earth when the desire wrapped an effort in the upper corner a few minutes later.
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia then made 2-1, and, just when he seemed that Villa was going in the return match, Nuno Mendes doubled the PSG’s advance in time.
PSG was already huge favorites to win the draw before kick -off, and will now be even heavier, because they take an advantage of two goals in next week’s match.
But it’s not something that bothers Emery too much. The villa is strong at home and has not lost in Villa Park since there are 18 games, a defeat that came to the Carabao Cup.
This is something that can play in their hands next week, argued Emery – because he suggested that he was not too concerned about the late goal.
Unai Emery insisted that its Aston Villa side could use the force of Villa Park to overcome PSG in the second stage of their confrontation in the Champions League
Villa dropped 3-1 in the first leg of their quarter-final confrontation Wednesday in Paris
Nuno Mendes scored the third goal of 3-1 victory, and Emery suggested that his team will have a different match plan next week
“More or less the expectation I had before the match,” he told TNT Sports after the match. “(There are) not much difference between two and three as we will play at home next week.
“It will always be a huge challenge for us, but we can feel strong at home with our supporters. We had to be strong defensively, lower than normal, but even when we lost, we had a free approach.
“(There were) two shots from Morgan (Rogers) and one of Marco Asensio, the last goal, ok, but our mind does not change much because we have to win at home now.
The villa is often known for their highline in terms of defense, but had less than 25% of the ball in Paris and were forced to defend itself deeply.
PSG had 29 shots overall, but Villa had seven, including good opportunities. More will come, insisted Emery, in the second stage.
“The first half, we had three or four chances to get into the box,” he continued. “We knew before the match, we also had to be clinical. We were in the first half but not in the second where we tried to show our power.
“PSG likes to keep possession, but today we were more in a low block, at home, maybe we can change. I hope we can get more moments to keep our momentum and possession.
“We will try to fight the result. We believe in Villa Park and that our players can give performance.
