Aston Villa’s Morgan Rogers maintains belief in his team’s chances of reaching the Champions League semifinals despite suffering a 3-1 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in their quarterfinal first leg.
The young English forward gave Villa a surprise lead at the Parc des Princes with a well-crafted goal, but PSG’s quality eventually shone through as Désiré Doué, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, and Nuno Mendes all found the net to give the French champions a two-goal cushion heading into the return leg.
“It was difficult. They’re a really good team and have stars all over the place,” Rogers told TNT Sports after the match. “We didn’t want to just come here and be spectators. Obviously the scoreline is not in our favor but we’ve got another game and we’ll try and turn it around.”
Despite facing an uphill battle, Rogers emphasized Villa’s determination to fight back at Villa Park: “We’re here for a reason, we’re not here to just compete. There’s loads of belief in the changing room. We have nothing to lose, nobody thought we’d win the tie in the first place. Why not just go for it?”
PSG dominated possession throughout the contest, controlling over 75% of the ball and limiting Villa to just two shots on target. Having already secured the Ligue 1 title, Luis Enrique’s side can now focus entirely on their European campaign as they seek their first Champions League trophy.
“They scored that goal that felt a little difficult to accept but we just had to win that match,” Enrique said. “To score in the last minute was great for us and our confidence. We have to think about the second leg and it’s going to be difficult for sure.”
Villa’s European adventure, their first Champions League campaign in over 40 years, has already exceeded expectations. Under Unai Emery’s guidance, they’ve eliminated Bayern Munich and reached the quarterfinals, but overturning this deficit would represent their greatest achievement yet.