“Villa wanted to keep the 2-1” – reaction from Vitinha, Nuno Mendes as PSG move closer to CL semis | OneFootball

Paris Saint-Germain 3-1 Aston Villa

French champions Paris Saint-Germain are in the driving seat heading into the second leg of their Champions League quarter final, after beating Aston Villa in the French capital.

Nuno Mendes scored what could be a crucial third goal in stoppage time, while Vitinha and Joao Neves also shone once again in midfield for Luis Enrique’s side, who impressed neutrals with a thrilling display.

Villa took a surprise lead ten minutes before the break and it was a goal Mendes will wish to forget. Having earned so many plaudits for his performances against Liverpool in the previous round, Mendes was caught in possession near the halfway line and Villa, primed to rely on transitions by boss Unai Emery, broke in clinical fashion to provide Morgan Rodgers with a simple finish.

PSG hit back quickly, levelling before the break through a stunning strike by the eye-catching Désiré Doué. The hosts provided much entertainment on the night, particularly through the movement of their creative players, and recent signing Khvicha Kvaratskhelia put PSG 2-1 up early in the second half with a thunderous finish.

The slender lead of 2-1 would probably have satisfied Villa, who would have felt things could have been much worse given their struggles to contain the French side. However, in the second minute of added time Nuno Mendes got the third forward play reminiscent of an established striker: the former Sporting man dummied the ball to evade both defender Konsa and goalkeeper Martinez before slotting into the net with his right foot.

Gonçalo Ramos was issued just seconds on the field as a substitute after the third goal, but Mendes was not the only Portuguese PSG player to shine. Once again Joao Neves’ energy and quality was notable, while compatriot Vitinha made a remarkable 152 passes on the night, racking up a pass completion rate of 97% to further demonstrate his status as one of the very best ball-playing midfielder in Europe.

Reaction:

Vitinha:

“We played well, it’s a deserved result. As usual, it’s not over yet, there’s a second match, we’ll have to be ready, but it’s a good victory.

“Going behind? It’s not the first time, we know it can happen, and we reacted well once again. That’s the strength of this team; we have to take advantage of this momentum. It’s not over. The Champions League is fantastic. We’ll be ready, we’ll play a good match there.

“This goal changes everything? It’s always important. I don’t know if it changes anything, but it’s always important. We felt that Aston Villa wanted to keep the 2-1.”

Nuno Mendes:

“This third goal gives us more confidence. A two-goal lead is good, but we have to keep going. We still have one more game to play. Two goals, I think, is nothing. If they score first there, we’ll have a hard time because they’ll be at home.

“The opener? The coach tells us every day that if we concede a goal, we have to keep going, that we always play the same game. We’re strong with the ball, we have to defend with the ball, and we know that spaces will open up, and we try to find those spaces. Today we did it, we played a good game, so it’s good."

Should PSG progress to the last four, they will meet the winner of the tie between Real Madrid and Arsenal, which currently stands at 3-0 to the English side after a stunning victory in London on Tuesday.