Unai Emery has urged his Aston Villa side to believe they can overturn a 3-1 first-leg deficit against PSG, as the Premier League club targets a historic comeback and a place in the Champions League semi-finals.
Villa will host the runaway Ligue 1 champions at Villa Park on Tuesday night, needing at least a two-goal swing to level the time.
Goals from Desire Doue, Kvicha Kvaratskhelia and Nuno Mendes in a sparkling first-leg performance at Parc Des Princes left the Villans with a monumental mountain to climb.
Though the Parisians have form in throwing away first-leg leads, famously surrendering a 4-0 lead to Barcelona in a 6-1 loss at the Nou Camp, as well as two-goal leads against Chelsea and Man Utd, the odds are stacked firmly against the hosts.
Speaking ahead of the match, Emery stressed the importance of tactical clarity, mental strength, and the role of the home crowd in inspiring a famous comeback.
“We competed there like we planned, and the result we achieved was not really the best result, but we were in good balance at the end of the match for the second leg.
“Now, the objective is to win. With one goal, it is not enough, but if we are winning, we can be close.
“Our objective is to try to play with one strong plan in our tactical way tomorrow, and then try to be consistent and try to understand how it’s going, the match, in 90 minutes.
“When we were winning in Brugge, we were, with the advantage we had, ready to play with extra-time and penalty shoot-out.
“Now, again, our plan is as well, if we are getting extra time, fantastic, and if we are getting a penalty shoot-out, could be fantastic as well.”
The Villa boss was realistic about the challenge PSG present but remains confident that home advantage could have a major role to play.
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“They (PSG) have experience playing with the opponent’s supporters in away matches. They are playing in France and Europe, and we have as well.
“But, if we are connecting with our supporters, if we are transmitting positive energy, if we are playing more or less getting tactically and individually good things on the field, the supporters, they are going to help us a lot with their energy and they are going to transmit to us their energy, and always for our players playing at home, with the energy they can receive from our supporters, it’s something adding positively.
“More for us than PSG players, because they have experiences and they as well can manage in different moments as well, trying to focus on the match and not really involving how, the supporters, they are pushing them.
“But for us, it’s important, for our players, for our energy, for our wishes, for our capacity to show our supporters as well our individual and collective performance.
“This is really important how much they can transmit, our supporters, helping us.”
Emery oversaw a number of notable European comebacks during his time in charge of Sevilla, including overturning a 2-0 first-leg deficit against Zenit St. Petersburg.
However, the Villa boss was keen to draw a line under his past performances in the Europa League, preferring to focus on the present moment with his current team.
“I have experiences coming back, results positively and negatively, in two ways. But now is something different.
“We want to write here the history with Aston Villa. Last year, in Conference League, and this year in Champions League, and hopefully for a long time in Europe.
“My experiences before was different, in different ways. I’m not going to remind the players (of) those experiences because my idea and my every work with the players inside, sending the message, is how we are doing this way, and how we are getting experiences together here with Aston Villa, with the players we are, with the experiences we were adding in our back last year, and this year, and as well with the combination we have with our players mentally, and as well individually and tactically to play being so, so demanding in our process to get opportunities and believing to beat tomorrow PSG.”
Villa will face Paris Saint-Germain live on Amazon Prime Video on Tuesday night.
