Paris Saint Germain kept alive their dream of a first UEFA Champions League title on Tuesday (Apr 15) by squeezing past Aston Villa 5-4 on aggregate after a pulsating second leg of their quarter-final which the English side won 3-2.
Ahead 3-1 from the first leg, PSG appeared to have sealed the contest within the first half-hour as their marauding fullbacks Achraf Hakimi and Nuno Mendes scored from two flowing counter-attacks to stun the Villa Park crowd.
But Youri Tielemans revived hope with a 34th-minute deflected goal before Villa stunned the visitors early in the second half with two goals in two minutes from John McGinn and Ezri Konsa.
Villa poured forward, drawing a string of outstanding saves from PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma to preserve the aggregate win and enable his side to move into a semi-final against either Real Madrid or Arsenal.
PSG were hot favourites to win the quarter-final given their first-leg advantage and recent form, including sealing a fourth straight Ligue 1 title and reaching the final of the French Cup. But Villa were not lacking belief themselves, especially at home where they were on a 17-match unbeaten run in all competitions. The hosts came out flying, nearly taking the lead from a corner in an early flurry of attacks.
