Birmingham, England – Aston Villa manager Unai Emery don talk say him players suppose see the second leg of their Champions League match against Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) as opportunity to make history di club go fit remember. Villa wey don win European Cup once in 1982, dey enter Villa Park for di second leg on Tuesday after dem come back from PSG wey don beat dem 3-1 for di first leg last week.
Emery emphasize say di match go require emotional and tactical management from him players. Di Spanish coach believe say his team get di capacity to turnaround di two-goal deficit. “I don get experience of comebacks, both positive and negative. But dis one na different case,” Emery talk. “We wan write history for Aston Villa. Last year we try for Conference League, and dis year, we dey aim for Champions League. We go ensure say we remain for Europe for a long time.”
Emery, wey don lose just one out of im last 13 home matches in major European games as Villa boss, get 11 victories during dem matches. Villa also dey on 17-match unbeaten run for home since November 2024.
Di manager dey eye to pair Marcus Rashford and Ollie Watkins for di attack, but he admit say di time fit no reach for dem to play together against PSG. Rashford and Watkins don play together for seven matches, with dem spending 82 minutes together for Villa 2-0 win over Cardiff City in FA Cup fifth round. “Di next step – if I get time – na to play dem together,” Emery continue. “We don try with Rashford play left but now we dey choose to use both as strikers. Na di next step wey I wan test.”
Villa attacking midfielder Morgan Rogers don talk say di fans’ support go play vital role in inspiriting di team to reach di semi-finals for di first time in over 40 years. “Di home support go be massive for us. Two-legged ties dey about home advantage, especially since di second leg dey for home,” Rogers explain.
Emery add say if him team fit connect with di supporters, dey go receive plenty positive energy to help dem in di match. “We need to use Villa Park as our fortress. Di supporters dey help us plenty and di energy wey dem fit transmit go support di players,” he said.
Despite di odds against dem, Villa get history on their side, as many teams don come back from two-goal deficits to win. Last Wednesday for di first leg, Nuno Mendes’ stoppage-time goal make di task tougher as dem go start di second leg trailing by two.
“Our use of Villa Park go be key,” Emry emphasize, while also acknowledging PSG’s experience. Di manager do well to separate im past knockout experiences with dis new mission with Villa. “Dis na our journey; we go create our own story,” he add.
On di night, Villa fans go fill di stadium to cheer their team in dis critical European battle. As di players prepare to hit di pitch, di atmosphere for Villa Park dey charged with excitement and hope as dem dey ready to fight for their place in Champions League semi-finals.
