BIRMINGHAM, England - Paris St Germain kept alive their dream of a first Champions League title on Tuesday by squeezing past Aston Villa 5-4 on aggregate after a pulsating second leg of their quarterfinal 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 semifinal against either Real Madrid or Arsenal , who play on Wednesday.
"Aston Villa made it difficult for us but we did what we had to do," said PSG's delighted captain Marquinhos.
"It's such a difficult competition but we're getting better and better, and we're proving that we're such a good team. It's going to be such a difficult semifinal, whether it's Arsenal or Real Madrid, but of course there is belief that this Paris St Germain team can go all the way and win it."
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PSG had been hot favorites to win the quarterfinal 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.
Frantic finale
However, PSG struck first blood in the 11th minute when Hakimi stroked the ball in after Villa's usually ultra-reliable goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez pushed it into his path.
Sixteen minutes later, Mendes curled in PSG's second goal off the post at the end of another fastflowing counter-attack.
Tielemans's first-half goal inspired a Villa onslaught after the break, with McGinn letting fly from outside the box to score in the 55th minute, helped by a small deflection. Two minutes later, Konza struck Villa's third on the night after being set up by a brilliant dribble from Marcus Rashford.
Villa's highest-profile fan, Prince William, was on his feet and one more goal would have put them level on aggregate.
But Donnarumma brilliantly defied Rashford, Tielemans and then substitute Marco Asensio - on loan from PSG - during a nerve-wracking finale.
"Very proud of the boys, of what we've done tonight," said Konza. "Obviously the two goals at the start killed us. But we showed great belief, great character to get back into the game. But unfortunately it wasn't enough."
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Villa fans gave their team a standing ovation for their sterling performance against the form team of Europe, as PSG's boisterous away supporters danced and chanted into the rainy Birmingham night.
