IMAGO / ZUMA Press Wire

Ousmane Dembele Shows His Anger At Being Handed Player of the Match After PSG vs Aston Villa

Originally posted on PSG on SI | By Euan Burns | Last updated Apr 16, 2025 9:00 AM ET

Paris Saint-Germain made it into the Champions League semi-finals on Tuesday night despite losing 3-2 against Aston Villa, and not everybody was content with the outcome.

The Ligue 1 champions were far from their best for the majority of the match and allowed the Premier League side to get one goal away from forcing extra-time, despite PSG winning the first leg 3-1 at the Parc des Princes.

Despite the PSG goals on the night coming from Achraf Hakimi and Nuno Mendes, UEFA decided that Ousmane Dembele was deserving of the Player of the Match award.

When a UEFA official had to try and hand the award to Dembele as he left the pitch, he refused to accept it, clearly feeling that he did not deserve it.

Ousmane Dembele really didn't want the Player of the Match award ❌ pic.twitter.com/olmYe1kYqB
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) April 16, 2025

Eventually, they did manage to get the French forward to pose with the trophy, but he wasn't going to go as far as cracking a smile.

Ousmane Dembélé, Man of the Match voted by UEFA for Aston Villa-PSG. pic.twitter.com/HsJs0y3IBb
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) April 15, 2025

PSG will play Real Madrid or Arsenal in the semi-final of the Champions League, with Arsenal 3-0 up from the first leg. Dembele spoke to Canal+ after the match and shared thoughts that are in keeping with his reaction to the Player of the Match award.

We thought we were too good. At 2-1, we thought we were already qualified and that it was over. That’s how the Champions League goes. You face teams whose supporters are white-hot and they can turn the game on its head.Ousmane Dembele

This article first appeared on PSG on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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