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PSG survives late scare to clinch Champions League semifinal berth
Paris Saint Germain lost the game, but it won the war.
The French club fell 3-2 to Aston Villa in the second leg of its Champions League quarterfinal, but its 3-1 win in the first leg secured a 5-4 aggregate victory and sealed its place in the next round.
The game started off well for PSG, with fullbacks Achraf Hakimi and Nuno Mendes scoring early goals against the run of play to set the aggregate score at 5-1 in PSG's favor.
But an inspired Villa comeback of three unanswered goals in 25 minutes flipped the momentum firmly in Villa's favor. As the clock ticked down, and the aggregate score sat poised at 5-4 in its favor, PSG had no choice but to hang on for dear life.
Villa's energy was overwhelming for PSG, but not unexpected.
"This match will be very difficult and we have to be ready to suffer," said PSG coach Luis Enrique ahead of the match. "When we are ready to suffer, we are ready to win."
Done and done. PSG suffered greatly at the hands of an intrepid Villa side that refused to go down without a fight, but that suffering begat a truly inspiring win.
It was PSG's Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, a mercurial player equally capable of the sublime and the senseless, who came up clutch for the Parisian side. His two breathtaking off-the-line saves in the second half were all that kept Villa from completing its comeback.
It was a stellar performance from Donnarumma and one that should make the rest of Europe nervous. He's been the undeniable weak link of this PSG side since the start of the season; with two back-to-back tie-saving performances, first against Liverpool and now against Aston Villa, Donnarumma is a weak link no more.
PSG's incredible European form is a testament to coach Luis Enrique. The once-middling Parisian club was thrust into the spotlight in 2011 when it found itself purchased by a prominent Qatari investment fund; from there, it became one of Europe's richest and least-loved teams.
The club bought the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Neymar and Lionel Messi, but no amount of world-class attackers helped the team make serious inroads in the Champions League. Coach after coach — from Aston Villa manager Unai Emery in 2018 to USMNT manager Mauricio Pochettino in 2022 — cracked under the weight of PSG's demands.
Enrique's tenure has been different. The Spanish coach arrived with a focus on youth development and no patience for PSG's superstar egos. He sold Mbappe to Real Madrid, officially ending the club's galactico era, and poured his attention into young stars like France's Desire Doue, Portugal's Nuno Mendes and Ecuador's Willian Pacho.
The approach was controversial, but it's proven its worth over the course of the 2024-25 season, and fans around the world have been effusive in their praise for the club. Enrique's efforts didn't just make PSG stronger: they made PSG likable, too.
PSG will face either Arsenal or Real Madrid in the semifinals of the tournament; it will be considered the clear favorite over both sides. But Enrique isn't swayed by that designation.
"The path of the Champions League is paved with favorites that were eliminated along the way," he said. "It is an advantage, but we never start off with certainties."
It's a sobering thought from Enrique and one that should set PSG up for a classic semifinal.
PSG will return to action for the first leg of its Champions League semifinal on April 29.
More must-reads:
- Barcelona survive Borussia Dortmund pressure to reach Champions League semifinals
- How should Arsenal approach the 2nd leg against Real Madrid?
- The 'NBA playoff point-per-game leaders' quiz
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