Villa Park was rocking before kick-off, and the hosts garnered that momentum into some early pressure on the PSG goal, but the Parisians are seasoned campaigners in Europe and withstood a barrage of Villa pressure in the opening 10 minutes.
After weathering the storm, the Ligue 1 champions sprung a lightning-quick counter down the left that culminated with Emiliano Martinez fumbling Bradley Barcola’s cross to the feet of a grateful Achraf Hakimi, who hammered the ball into the roof of the net.
Three goals behind on aggregate by that point, it was mission improbable for Villa. By the half-hour mark, it was mission impossible, as Nuno Mendes finished off another speedy PSG counter, collecting Ousmane Dembele’s pass before crashing an effort in off the post.
Undeterred, Unai Emery’s side kept probing, and they soon gave their fans something to shout about when Youri Tielemans’ effort deflected off Pacho and sent Gianluigi Donnarumma diving the opposite way.
Villa still needed a miracle after the break, but PSG know all too well what it’s like to be on the end of such a comeback in this competition.
Villa were on the offensive from the get-go after the break, and the roof came off Villa Park when John McGinn strode forward from deep and unleashed an absolute rocket which dipped over Donnarumma and into the top corner.
PSG crumbled under the raucous atmosphere and their aggregate deficit was cut once again just two minutes later, when Marcus Rashford jinked his way to the byline and cut the ball back for Ezri Konsa to steer into the bottom corner.
Chances were continually presenting themselves for Villa, with Konsa, Youri Tielemans and Marco Asensio all missing gilt-edged chances to level the tie on aggregate.
The Villans continued to throw caution to the wind until the bitter end, but they ultimately couldn’t find the elusive fourth goal on the night and their European campaign drew to a disappointing close.
The spot in the last four went the way of PSG, who will face either Real Madrid or Arsenal in the semi-finals as they continue their bid for a maiden Champions League title.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Marcus Rashford (Aston Villa)
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