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PSG’S THIRD GOAL NOT STOPPING VILLA’S SECOND LEG, COME-BACK TASK – EMERY

Aston Villa boss Unai Emery says Paris St Germain’s late goal in their 3-1 Champions League quarter-final first-leg defeat does not affect his side’s chances of progressing.

Villa looked like returning home from the French capital with just a one-goal deficit after Morgan Rogers’ opener was eclipsed by superb goals from Desire Doue and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.

But Nuno Mendes’ added-time goal seems particularly important as Villa had contained Liverpool’s conquerers after France’s public enemy number one Emiliano Martinez made a string of important saves.

Emery says Villa’s outlook remains the same and the defeat is not the “worst” result.

“It’s not changing a lot,” the Spaniard said.

“At 2-1 we were thinking for the next match playing to win, at 3-1 it’s still the same.

“We need to win the next match, not just by one goal, two. I’m very proud of the players and how we are developing and doing with our increasing in our demands and playing against PSG.

“We competed fantastically and we were close to getting a good result. At the end with this goal it’s more or less the same.”

Villa will need to produce the most famous night since they won the European Cup in 1982 if their maiden Champions League journey is to continue.

But Emery still believes, adding: “I believe Villa Park is our home, hopefully we can be stronger, get the duels better than today and have our moment more than today.

“They’re still favourites, and they showed their qualities. The result is not the best or the worst. Still 90 minutes to play in the second leg and we’re ready in case we have to go to extra-time.

“We know it’s a team that’s built to win at very high level. We’re very happy to compete at this level, facing teams collectively, we’re not the best version of our team.

“Collectively and individually I’ll make sure we’re better. We’re here to compete and this is not changing.”

PSG showed why they are fancied to finally get their hands on the Champions League trophy for the first time.

“I think we changed our DNA trying to sign young players with a lot of quality,” boss Luis Enrique said.

“We have that resources. It is important to try and develop our idea. We are in that important mix with the enough energy to try to go for the next phase and try to make history in Paris.

“It is our goal to try and win all the trophies. It is an ambitious goal but it is motivating for us.

“I am very happy with the performance today and the whole year and I hope we can continue that way.”

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Psg want Rashford

Paris Saint-Germain have had an awful lot of time to plan for next season, but manager Thomas Tuchel has been absolutely unwavering on one view. There’s been no second-guessing himself, or mulling it over.

The German sees Marcus Rashford as a top target. Tuchel has been even more emphatic when discussing it with key figures around the club. He thinks England “don’t realise how good a player Rashford actually is”.

The Old Trafford hierarchy, however, greatly value Rashford. It may take quite the offer to see how much. Even in this Covid-19 deflated market, United would want over £100m. Tuchel would probably be willing to pay it.

The PSG boss adores Rashford’s directness and versatility. He feels that willingness to run, as well as some of the more selfless aspects of his game, can greatly complement Neymar and Kylian Mbappe. Rashford could even represent a long-term alternative to Mbappe, if Real Madrid can eventually make their move there.

This is also what Tuchel prizes. He feels Rashford can play in a number of positions, without his level dropping in any of them. That versatility is of particular value to Tuchel because of the variety he loves in his team’s attacks, as well as the desire for them to interchange and offer a whirlwind of movement.

He sees Rashford as “the perfect model of the modern dynamic attacking player”, who you can see fitting into most elite teams. ✕

It isn’t the only interest Rashford has had from major continental club, after all. Barcelona were very keen last year, at the time when they were trying to increase their points of attack, and trying to figure out who best to sign. They felt Rashford would have been perfectly suited to La Liga. They were also particularly impressed with his England form, and felt these showed that bigger games bring out even more in the 22-year-old.

Barca didn’t act at the time, both because they believed it would be too difficult to do a deal with United, and because there was an existing dialogue with Antoine Griezmann. What is true is that Rashford probably would have suited Barca’s 4-3-3 better than the French star, especially when producing that “wide raider” form that Gareth Southgate has so lionised.

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CAVANI AND THIAGO TO LEAVE PSG

Edinson Cavani and Thiago Silva are set to leave Paris St-Germain this summer after the conclusion of the club’s Champions League campaign in August.

Uruguay striker Cavani, 33, is PSG’s record scorer with 200 goals and Brazil defender Silva, 35, is club captain.

“It was a difficult decision to make – they are players who made their mark on the club’s history,” sporting director Leonardo told Le Journal du Dimanche.

“The stories were so beautiful. But, yes, we are coming to the end.”

He added: “We had to make a logical decision. Maybe we are wrong, I do not know – there is never a perfect moment. Now the Champions League is still in sight, and the idea is to continue competing with them until the end of August. How it can be done is not yet clear.”

Both players’ contracts are due to expire on 30 June. Ligue 1 was cancelled in April, but the Champions League is due to be completed in August with a mini-tournament behind closed doors.

PSG resume training on 22 June and are already through to the Champions League quarter-finals after beating Borussia Dortmund in March before football was suspended because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Cavani had asked to leave the French champions in January amid interest from Spanish side Atletico Madrid, while he was also linked to Manchester United and Chelsea.

Last month, PSG signed striker Mauro Icardi for 60m euros (£54m) from Inter Milan.

When asked if forwards Neymar and Kylian Mbappe would still be at the club next season, Leonardo said: “Nothing tells us otherwise.

“They still have two years on their contracts and we’re more thinking about the future with them. We want to go forward.”