Defeated Villa eager to go again in Champions League

LONDON – Unai Emery believes that there is more to come from Aston Villa, as they exited the Champions League with pride after a thrilling 3-2 second-leg win over Paris Saint-Germain on April 15.

The French champions prevailed 5-4 on aggregate to reach the semi-finals thanks to their 3-1 first-leg lead, but lost at Villa Park for just the second time in 31 matches.

Emery’s men nearly produced one of the most memorable fightbacks in the Champions League.

From 2-0 down on the night, they needed four goals to force extra time and were denied only by a series of stunning saves from Gianluigi Donnarumma after strikes from Youri Tielemans, John McGinn and Ezri Konsa.

“I’m very proud of everything we did in the Champions League. To get to this level is the next step forward that I want to try to build with Aston Villa,” said Emery, who has transformed Villa’s fortunes since taking charge in 2022.

“Today it was fantastic how we were feeling here with our supporters. The crowd was fantastic. They enjoyed it as much as we did.”

Villa’s first foray into Europe’s elite competition since 1983 included a famous victory over Bayern Munich in the group stage.

The team are involved in a tight battle for a place in the competition again next season via a top-five finish in the Premier League.

Villa sit seventh but are just one point behind fifth-placed Manchester City with six games to go.

“Through (the) Premier League is very difficult,” added Emery. “It’s the more demanding objective we can have, which is to get again Champions League.

“The challenge we have now is for the last six matches we are going to play, try to get Europe and try to get Champions League. And in case not, the Europa