Paris Saint-Germain will carry a two-goal cushion into the second leg of their UEFA Champions League quarter-final after a commanding 3-1 victory over Aston Villa at the Parc des Princes, snapping the English side’s seven-game winning streak.
Unai Emery, facing his former club for the first time, set his Villa side up to frustrate the hosts early on.
Despite that, PSG carved out early chances, with both Vitinha and Ousmane Dembélé testing Emiliano Martinez, while Vitinha also fired a fierce effort over the bar.
Villa struggled to create clear-cut chances but did well to disrupt PSG’s rhythm and gradually grew into the game. Their patience paid off on 35 minutes when they struck against the run of play with a move full of precision and pace.
John McGinn won possession in midfield and spread play to Marcus Rashford, who found Youri Tielemans in space on the left. The Belgian midfielder delivered a pinpoint ball across the goalmouth for Morgan Rogers to tap in, sending the travelling fans into raptures.
But the Parisians responded almost immediately with a moment of individual brilliance. Desire Doue cut inside from the left flank, shook off Rogers, and unleashed a thunderous shot into the far top corner, restoring parity in stunning fashion.
Doue remained a constant threat until the break, and the home side picked up right where they left off in the second half.
Fabian Ruiz switched the play to Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who breezed past Axel Disasi and powered a finish into the roof of the net from an acute angle, putting PSG ahead for the first time.
The French champions dominated proceedings from then on, with Achraf Hakimi among several players to test Villa’s defense. Yet despite their control, they failed to capitalize fully and allowed the visitors a few glimpses of goal—most notably for PSG loanee Marco Asensio.
Just when it seemed Villa would escape with a narrow one-goal deficit, Dembélé threaded a ball through to Nuno Mendes. The full-back darted into the box, turned both his marker and the goalkeeper, and coolly tucked home PSG’s third.
The result leaves Villa with a mountain to climb in the return leg, while PSG, fresh off their Ligue 1 title win, remain strong contenders for both European and domestic honours.
