Marcus Rashford Falls Short as Villa Crushed by Dominant PSG Display
Marcus Rashford’s loan spell at Aston Villa took a disappointing turn as they fell to a 3-1 defeat against Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final.
Early on, Villa managed to take an unexpected lead in the 35th minute, thanks to their emerging star, Morgan Rogers. John McGinn showcased his tenacity by winning the ball from Nuno Mendes, and after making a strong run, he found Rashford. Rashford then set up Youri Tielemans, who delivered a fantastic low cross right onto Rogers’s foot at the far post.
Unfortunately for Villa, their joy was short-lived. Just four minutes after taking the lead, PSG equalized when Desire Doue unleashed a stunning curling shot that not only beat goalkeeper Emi Martinez but also hit the underside of the bar before bouncing in.
The second half saw PSG seize control of the match, with Khvicha Kvaratskhelia leaving Axel Disasi in his wake before blasting a powerful shot into the roof of the net. To cap it all off for Villa, Mendes added a third goal during stoppage time, making their path to the semi-finals even tougher.
Unai Emery once again decided to have Rashford lead the attack for Villa. While this strategy has worked well in previous matches, it didn’t pay off this time around. Rashford, who had been lively in front of goal recently, struggled to make an impact in Paris. Most of his contributions seemed to focus on assisting with counter-attacks rather than posing a real threat.
He played for 79 minutes before being substituted for Ollie Watkins, but didn’t manage a single shot—neither on target nor off. Out of three dribbles, he completed just one and touched the ball 29 times, completing 17 of his 23 passes for a pass accuracy of 74%. Only one of his three ground duels was won, and he was unable to claim the solitary aerial challenge he contested.
Rashford didn’t record any tackles or interceptions and lost possession eight times during the match. Although his performance wasn’t a total disaster, like many of his teammates, he will likely feel he could have offered more.
With Mendes’ late goal making it even more challenging, Villa faces an uphill battle in the return leg, but the tie is far from over..
