Late Nuno Mendes goal hurts Aston Villa hopes to stretch PSG’s advantage

Luis Enrique is regarded as the manager who finally transformed Paris Saint-Germain from a team of individuals into a team but that does not prevent players from expressing themselves. For Exhibit A, see Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s preposterous strike that helped earn PSG a deserved advantage heading into the second leg of this quarter-final.

Exhibit B was a beauty, too, Désiré Doué sending a rasping strike in off the woodwork after Morgan Rogers gave Villa a shock first-half lead. By the end it was 3-1, 29 shots to six and it was tempting to wonder quite how many full-backs Unai Emery would require to cage PSG’s ravenous front three.

As the flag a handful of supporters posed with on the Pont d’Iéna, opposite the Eiffel Tower, several hours before kick-off declared, this was Emery in Paris and drama was a given. It is why the Prince of Wales was compelled to be here, his eldest son in tow. “I want George to experience a night out away from home in a big European competition,” the royal Villa supporter said before kick-off.

And they do not come much bigger than this. Villa’s first quarter-final on this stage since 1983, when they exited to Juventus, had the feel of a big-ticket event. It also represented their first monstrous away tie in this competition, at a European behemoth in a fitting arena. The PSG ultras in the Auteuil stand unravelled a giant tifo of a skull and a nod to the Peaky Blinders as the players emerged. “By order of the Paris SG fans,” it read, though they seemingly ignored the television show is set in Small Heath, round the corner from Villa’s arch-rivals Birmingham City.

The L’Équipe front-page headline Viser Juste, aim accurately, spoke to what promised to be an absorbing subplot. Could PSG find a way past Emiliano Martínez, persona non grata in these parts long before travelling to Paris on Tuesday wearing a cap showing off Argentina’s World Cup triumph over France in Qatar and featuring a rooster, the national symbol. Had Martínez strayed into coq of the walk territory? The thing with Martínez is he tends to back up his brashness and the mind games and dark arts usually pay off. His first touch invariably was heavily jeered and the locals took great delight in his first kick smacking the advertising hoardings.

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (right) celebrates on the turf with Achraf Hakimi (centre) and Ousmane Dembele after his stunning strike for PSG. Photograph: Yoan Valat/EPA

From there PSG assumed control. Martínez made a superb save to thwart Ousmane Dembélé and the goalkeeper then smothered when Achraf Hakimi made tracks towards the byline. Vitinha sent a shot over. Kvaratskhelia was proving too hot to handle and Villa shifted to a 5-4-1 out of possession to soak up PSG’s pressure. PSG appeared comfortable so it was a shock when Villa seized the lead in the 35th minute. Until that point PSG had 77% of possession and Villa’s only shot, from John McGinn, flew into the stands. Then McGinn made a crunching tackle on Nuno Mendes a couple of yards inside the Villa half and then spread play from right to left, locating Marcus Rashford, who was preferred to Ollie Watkins in attack. Rashford spotted Youri Tielemans on the overlap and his ball across the six-yard box was converted by Rogers at the back post. Emery, doing his best to keep his emotions in check, clenched both fists in celebration.

But the game quickly reverted to type. Martínez somehow prevented a shot from creeping over the line but what happened next was unstoppable. Doué drove inside Rogers and sent a blistering strike into the goal off the underside of the crossbar. The electric Doué was not done there, forcing Martínez into a two-hand save and then spooning over before the half-time whistle sounded.

PSG carried on where they left off. The only difference was now it was Axel Disasi, who entered at half-time in place of Matty Cash, who had been booked for pulling at Kvaratskhelia’s shirt, who had to live with PSG’s devastating attack. Kvaratskhelia annihilated Disasi, once of Paris FC, four minutes into the second half. The Georgia forward surged at Disasi, dribbling one way and ripping in the opposite direction to leave the Chelsea loanee stumbling, but still had work to do. Kvaratskhelia, though, made light of an awkward angle and blasted a vicious strike inside Martínez’s near post.

Now this stadium was bouncing. Emery turned to Marco Asensio, who entered to face his parent club, but it was one of those ahead of him in the pecking order who stole the show. Kvaratskhelia nutmegged McGinn and then released Doué, who burned down the left and found Hakimi infield. Martínez made a fine save down to his right. Eventually Mendes made it 3-1 in stoppage time, feinting and then finishing in style. Fresh from PSG clinching Ligue 1 for a fourth successive season, PSG clearly have their eyes set on a bigger prize, one which eluded Emery during his time here. On this evidence, it may not for much longer.