Aston Villa reach Champions League quarter-finals as Marco Asensio sets up PSG clash - reaction | OneFootball

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Aston Villa coasted into the quarter-finals of the Champions League with a comfortable victory over 10-man Club Brugge as Marco Asensio struck twice to set up a clash with his parent club Paris Saint-Germain.

Club Brugge had a mountain to climb after last week’s 3-1 defeat in Belgium and the task became even harder when right back Kyriani Sabbe was shown a straight red card in the 15th minute for fouling Marcus Rashford on the edge of the box.

Sabbe was the last man and was sent off for denying a goalscoring opportunity - but it did not take until the second half for Aston Villa to press home their advantage.

Asensio and Leon Bailey came off the bench and combined as the Spaniard continued his excellent form to hook a finish into the top corner. Ian Maatsen added another five minutes later, with Asensio then scoring his second from Rashford’s pass.

Villa played the rest of the game on cruise control and can now look forward to a quarter-final clash with Liverpool’s conquerors PSG, in a match that will see Unai Emery face his former club and Asensio play against the team he’s on loan from.

Marco Asensio speaks after Aston Villa's win

Marco Asensio broke out into a huge grin when it was mentioned to him that Aston Villa will be playing Paris Saint-Germain in the next round.

He didn’t say too much about his parent club, though, but here’s what he said to TNT Sports about Aston Villa’s victory in the last-16.

“Very happy for the victory. I'm very happy for the team and the fans. Every match the atmosphere is top. We want more. Now we have a little break and to think about the upcoming objectives.

"I feel very comfortable here. Very happy with the team-mates, the fans and the city. In one or two weeks we have time to think about this [PSG] game."

Aston Villa 3-0 Club Brugge (6-1 on agg.)

86 mins: Rashford is desperate for a goal and gets a sniff of a chance as he’s played through into the box. Vanaken steps across well to deny him.

Jamie Braidwood12 March 2025 21:47