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.
