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John McGinn handed the captain’s armband to Pau Torres upon being substituted - Reuters/Matthew Childs
Aston Villa had one of the Champions League’s greatest comebacks in their sights when they fought back from 5-1 down on aggregate against Paris Saint-Germain – but ended up falling just short in their attempt to send the quarter-final into extra-time.
Unai Emery had 33 minutes plus stoppage time to find one goal to level the tie and ended up flat on the floor in the technical area as PSG managed to keep Villa out. But did he get it wrong with his substitutes as the game changed momentum?
Villa had the wind in their sails when Ezri Konsa pulled it back to 5-4 before Emery made five changes in the final phase of the match, taking off two of his goalscorers and Marcus Rashford after he had provided an assist.
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Ezri Konsa brought Villa within one goal of drawing level with PSG on aggregate - Getty Images/Dan Mullan
There were chances for Emery’s subs to level and send the tie to extra-time but they were denied by a stunning performance from Gianluigi Donnarumma in goal for PSG and a last-gasp goal-line clearance in the final moments.
The substitutions
Marco Asensio for John McGinn (66 minutes)
This was a big call from Emery, giving his Villa team a more attacking look with Asensio pushed forward at the expense of McGinn. But McGinn had been inspirational for the previous hour six minutes before he was subbed, driving his team forward from central midfield and grabbing their second goal on the night to give the crowd real belief.
McGinn’s goal was typical of his captain’s performance. He took the ball from central midfield and drove forward before his dipping finish found the top corner. He sprinted off when his number was called as every second counted - fitness was not an issue and he could have gone on for another half an hour. Asensio’s big moment came when he was sent through in the 70th minute but Donnarumma saved superbly with his foot.
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Marco Asensio had a golden opportunity to bring Villa level on aggregate - Getty Images/Jean Catuffe
Jacob Ramsey for Amadou Onana (66 minutes)
Emery gave his team a different attacking edge with this double-substitution. Ramsey came on and was further up the pitch to Onana. He was also involved in attacks, often picking up the ball in the No10 area and finding team-mates wide. His first touch was positive, looking to go forward and get Villa on the attack.
Ollie Watkins for Marcus Rashford (76 minutes)
Rashford had set up Konsa’s goal with a dribble that took him around Fabián Ruiz and Vitinha - it was a high-level piece of skill and the type of play that earned him a recall to the England squad. Earlier he had forced Donnarumma into a world-class tip over the crossbar with a long-range shot.
Away from his highlights, he looked to have PSG worried when he got on the ball. They did not know which way he was going to run and it looked like the Rashford of old. His body language was positive, sprinting to retrieve balls when they went out and playing with a smile on his face.
It was a gamble to take him off for Watkins, who had started one game in the previous five having picked up a knee injury in the last-16 clash against Club Brugge. He scored off the bench at the weekend against Southampton but did not get a chance in front of goal against PSG.
Ian Maatsen for Lucas Digne (76 minutes)
This was a like-for-like swap in terms of positioning, with Maatsen coming on for Digne and taking his left-back role, pushing forward and joining attacks. The Dutch full-back was so close to being a super-sub with his effort in the dying moments of the game. He executed a volley perfectly and his finish was heading into the bottom corner but was blocked by Willian Pacho, who moved his hands out of the way skilfully to avoid a penalty.
Ross Barkley for Youri Tielemans (88 minutes)
Even without the final five minutes of the match, including stoppage-time, Tielemans ran the most out of all Villa players. He covered 11.939km during the match and only Fabian Ruiz and Joao Neves topped 12km. He showed his goal threat with Villa’s first on the evening and looked like he had one last effort in him.
What the stats said
The Opta statistics, measuring attacking threat, suggests that Villa lost momentum after the subs were made. They piled on the pressure after Konsa’s goal and were firmly on top – but lost their grip in the final part of the game. As they poured forward, Donnarumma was equal to their efforts and it also meant PSG were a huge threat on the counter-attack and could have added to their own goal tally.
The reaction
Former Liverpool defender Stephen Warnock pointed out Emery’s subs in his analysis for BBC Five Live. He said: “I don’t know what Unai Emery saw, with the way Marcus Rashford was playing, he got it wrong. Rashford was brilliant. Rashford was involved in everything and everything which was good was coming from him.
“It felt like the tempo dropped when he made that substitution. You need a goal – why are you taking a striker off? If you want to pin PSG back, you play Rashford and Watkins in between the full-back and centre-halves and you stretch those balls over the top.”
“Marcus Rashford didn’t score, but the energy levels that he had... he was making those defenders make mistakes,” added former Villa and Manchester United striker Dion Dublin said on BBC Radio 5 Live. “For me, he was man of the match for Villa.”
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