Aston Villa produced a spirited comeback against Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday but bowed out of the UEFA Champions League.
Unai Emery’s side came back from 2-0 down to beat PSG 3-2 on the night, thanks to goals from Youri Tielemans (£5.5m), John McGinn (£5.2m) and Ezri Konsa (£4.4m), but were eliminated 5-4 on aggregate.
Here, we pick out the key Fantasy Premier League (FPL) talking points from Villa Park.
TUESDAY’S RESULT
| Opponent | Result | Goals | Assists | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aston Villa | Paris Saint-Germain (h) | 3-2 win | Tielemans, McGinn, Konsa | McGinn, Pau, Rashford |
TEAM SELECTION/ROTATION
| Starting XI changes from their last match | Players who kept their places (mins) | Other mins for selected players | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aston Villa | 4 | Martinez (90), Cash (90), Konsa (90), Onana (67), Tielemans (88), Rogers (90), Rashford (76) | Pau (90), Digne (76), Ramsey (23), Kamara (90), McGinn (66), Asensio (24), Watkins (14) |
RASHFORD V WATKINS
Marcus Rashford (£6.7m) got the nod over Ollie Watkins (£8.9m) again on Tuesday, a call which certainly raised a few eyebrows.
It means Watkins has started just one of Villa’s last six matches in all competitions.
Since the international break, Emery hasn’t used Rashford off the left, instead preferring him to compete with Watkins for the number nine role. The Spaniard even suggested he isn’t ready to pair them together earlier this week.
“The next step, if I have time, is to play them together. We did with Rashford playing left side, but now we are choosing more with both playing as strikers. That’s the next step. I want to practice. I want to test, but not now, with enough time.” – Unai Emery
Given Rashford’s eye-catching display against PSG, it perhaps puts him in the driving seat for another start against Newcastle United on Saturday.
In a superb second-half performance, he jinked past two defenders to provide the assist for Konsa’s goal.
He also racked up 12 penalty box touches, nine crosses and four key passes, the most of any Villa player.
There were a couple of shots, too, the first smothered by Gianluigi Donnarumma, before his drilled effort forced another good save.
Villa created a number of other chances on Tuesday, with Tielemans and substitute Marco Asensio (£6.2m) also forcing Donnarumma into action.
With Tielemans pushed into a No 10 role, a tactic Emery often uses against tougher opposition, Morgan Rogers (£5.6m) started on the right and consistently threatened, with three shots.
It wasn’t to be in the end, but Villa will take confidence from this performance, with Luis Enrique even claiming he had not seen a team “dominate” his side in that manner before.
VILLA’S HOME FORM / EMERY’S CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FOCUS
The 3-2 win extended Villa’s unbeaten run at Villa Park to 18 matches across all competitions, with fellow top-five hopefuls Newcastle, who are two points clear of Emery’s side, up next on Saturday.
Villa also face Manchester City in Double Gameweek 33.
Above: Villa are unbeaten in 18 home matches across all competitions
It sounds like Champions League qualification is the priority for Emery, too, a significant factor given that Villa play Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup semi-final just a few days after Gameweek 33 concludes, increasing the risk of rotation in the ‘double’.
“The idea is to try to be consistent in getting Europe. Last year we played in the Conference League and played a semi-final. This year we played in Champions League and played a quarter-final.
“The best competition in Europe is the Champions League and it’s the most difficult to achieve. This is our objective and we will prepare the last six matches we are going to play in the Premier League to get it.” – Unai Emery
Leon Bailey (£6.2m), meanwhile, was back on the bench for Villa on Tuesday, having missed the last three Gameweeks through injury.
Like Axel Disasi (£4.2m) and Tyrone Mings (£4.4m), he remained an unused substitute, however.
