Ousmane Dembele Reacts to PSG’s Narrow Escape Against Aston Villa in Champions League | OneFootball

Paris Saint-Germain lost 3-2 to Aston Villa on Tusday night at Villa Park in the second leg of their UEFA Champions League quarterfinal tie, but still moved on to the semifinals with a 5-4 win on aggregate and they await the winner of the Arsenal or Real Madrid tie.

PSG came out flying, scoring twice early to build a commanding 5-1 lead on aggregate. Achraf Hakimi opened the scoring in the 11th minute, and Nuno Mendes followed with a second in the 27th. With a four-goal cushion, it looked like PSG were in full control—but Aston Villa had other plans.

Youri Tielemans pulled one back in the 34th minute, giving the home crowd something to cheer about heading into the break. Then came a flurry of goals early in the second half: John McGinn scored in the 55th, and Ezri Konsa added another just two minutes later, cutting the aggregate score to 5-4.

Aston Villa pushed for the equalizer, but PSG held on to avoid a dramatic collapse and book their spot in the final four.

Ousmane Dembele opens up about PSG’s near collapse

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Following the win and scare that PSG received, Ousmane Dembele spoke to Canal+ and shared his thoughts on advancing by a narrow margin (h/t Paris Fans).

“You have to be demanding, especially in this match. We made things difficult for ourselves, even though they put a lot of pressure on us. They also have good players, but we made it hard for ourselves. Especially in the second half, we completely let go.”

“We thought we were too good at 2-1, thinking we were already qualified. The Champions League is like that, with their passionate fans, they can turn the game around. We’ll need to be more demanding for the semifinals.”