Morgan Rogers and Unai Emery talk up Aston Villa Champions League comeback chances against Paris Saint-Germain - 'It's not done yet'
Updated 10/04/2025 at 08:24 GMT+1
Morgan Rogers and Unai Emery are confident Aston Villa can turn around their UEFA Champions League quarter-final against Paris Saint-Germain despite a 3-1 defeat in the first leg. Rogers opened the scoring for Villa but three outstanding goals from the hosts have given Emery's men an uphill task to reach the last four. The Villa boss and his players insist, however, that the tie is "not done yet".
Highlights: Three ridiculous goals undo Villa in Paris
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Morgan Rogers said Aston Villa’s UEFA Champions League quarter-final tie with Paris Saint-Germain is "not done yet" despite their first-leg defeat at the Parc des Princes.
Rogers gave the visitors the lead from close range but superb solo efforts from Desire Doue and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia on either side of the interval saw Luis Enrique’s men turn the game on its head before Nuno Mendes added an excellent third in stoppage time.
However, in spite of the 3-1 loss, Rogers believes it is still all to play for ahead of next week’s second leg at Villa Park given the "quality" in Unai Emery’s squad and their form at home this season.
The Villa goalscorer told TNT Sports: "[There is] loads of belief in the changing room. We’ve got nothing to lose. No one had us to win the tie in the first place, so why not just go for it?
"That’s the mentality I have, that’s the mentality everyone has and the manager as well.
"We’ve got to just keep going for it and keep believing that we can do it and see where it takes us, but we’ve definitely got the quality to turn it around so it's not done yet."
He added: "We’ve got enough quality in the room to cause any team in the world problems. Now we’re going back at home and that's where we know our best form is and the way we play is better probably at home this season"
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'It's not done yet' – Fighting talk from Rogers after Villa lose at PSG
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Villa manager Emery knows all too well about Champions League comebacks, having been in charge of PSG when Barcelona infamously overturned a 4-0 deficit against his side with a 6-1 win at the Camp Nou in 2017.
Unsurprisingly, the Spaniard echoes Rogers' optimism and also believes his team's strength at home along with the backing of their supporters will give them a chance to turn the tie around.
He told TNT Sports: "We will play at home next week and it will be a huge challenge for us, but we will feel strong at home with our supporters at Villa Park.
"We believe in our supporters, we believe in Villa Park and that the players can get the best performance next week."
Emery's men are unbeaten in 17 games on their home ground, including a recent run of four successive victories.
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However, the Villa boss knows his side will have to improve at both ends of the pitch to have a chance at progressing.
Assessing the performance, he said: "Today, we needed to be disciplined in defence and even when we were losing 2-1, we had three approaches in their box.
"In the first half, we had three or four chances to get in their box, maybe only one chance to score. We needed to be clinical and we were in the first half, not in the second."
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'A huge challenge' but Villa will 'feel strong at home' – Emery targets comeback
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PSG, who wrapped up the Ligue 1 title with six games to spare on the weekend, have become one of the sides tipped for success in the Champions League this season after knocking out league-phase winners Liverpool in the last 16.
Rogers admitted it was a "difficult" evening for Villa against the "deadly" French champions.
The 22-year-old said: "It was difficult. We knew it was going to be difficult coming into it; we’ve watched their last few games and how deadly and sharp they’ve been. I think they’ve put the world on notice of how good they are.
"We didn’t want to come here and just be spectators, we wanted to take part and try and compete, and I felt we did that for large parts."
He added: "They’re a really good team, they’re well organised, got stars all over the pitch. It was difficult."
Villa make the trip to Southampton in the Premier League on Saturday before hosting the all-important second leg next Tuesday.
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