Paris Saint-Germain have secured their place in the Champions League semi-finals after surviving a dramatic second-leg clash at Villa Park, where Aston Villa came close to pulling off a historic comeback. Luis Enrique’s side held on through a tense night and will now face the winner of the tie between Real Madrid and Arsenal.

The tie seemed wrapped up in just over 30 minutes. Having won 3-1 in the first leg, PSG extended their aggregate lead early on. In the 10th minute, a defensive mix-up between Emiliano Martínez and Pau Torres allowed Achraf Hakimi to open the scoring. Moments later, Nuno Mendes finished off a swift counterattack to make it 2-0, seemingly putting the tie beyond doubt.

However, the script flipped entirely in the second half. Youri Tielemans pulled one back with a deflected strike after a slick team move involving Marcus Rashford and John McGinn. The deflection off Willian Pacho wrong-footed Gianluigi Donnarumma, sparking belief in the stands, where Prince William and his son George were among the hopeful fans.

That belief grew stronger when McGinn made it 2-2, once again benefiting from a deflection off Pacho. The energy inside Villa Park surged, and moments later, Rashford delivered a stunning individual play, beating Fabián Ruiz, feinting past Vitinha, and setting up Ezri Konsa for a clinical finish to make it 3-2.

Now just one goal away from extra time, Aston Villa pushed forward with everything they had. Donnarumma came to PSG’s rescue, denying McGinn with a crucial header save and stopping Marco Asensio in a one-on-one. Konsa also came close again, but his header from a Rashford set-piece narrowly missed the target.

Despite their heroic effort, Villa fell just short. A devastated Unai Emery knew his team had been on the brink of a historic turnaround.

Meanwhile, PSG return to the final four in Europe’s premier competition and continue their pursuit of a long-awaited first Champions League title. Under Luis Enrique, they await their next opponent: either Real Madrid or Arsenal.

Relive all the goals from the Aston Villa vs PSG clash right here!