'Despair for Emery, but Villa showed they belong'

Unai Emery has enjoyed too much success in Europe to listen to talk of glorious failure but. if there is such a thing, Aston Villa delivered it on a night of pure theatre at Villa Park.

Villa's Champions League odyssey ended with defeat by Paris St-Germain, but the manner in which they unnerved arguably the most impressive side in this season's competition demonstrated that they belonged in this elite company.

It has been 43 years since they were last in this competition, then as holders. It will not be as long again if they continue the progress under expert European operator Emery, who almost engineered yet another glory night to add to his stellar managerial CV.

It is probably just as long since the grand old stadium rocked like this in such an electric atmosphere, as Villa looked down and out when PSG struck twice early on to extend their 3-1 advantage from the first leg in Paris.

At 5-1 down on aggregate, it had all the makings of a long and painful night for Spanish boss Emery and his players as they were punished by this brutally brilliant PSG.

But they launched a stunning series of counter-punches that left PSG on the ropes, and Villa just one goal away from forcing extra time.

Villa Park is a stadium built for the Champions League - although there was a mis-step before kick-off when the Europa League theme was played.

It is something they will not want to hear next season.

The pre-match build-up was more rock concert than football match, with flames and pyrotechnics lighting up Villa Park, fireworks flying over either side of the stadium from the roof of the towering stands.

The trademark stern expression of legendary former Villa manager Ron Saunders gazed down from the giant screens before kick-off as one of the most famous quotes in the club's history was revived, echoing around the stadium.

"Do you want to bet against us?" is a message fixed in Villa folklore, Saunders delivering it when they stumbled and were doubted before winning the league title in 1981.

Everyone inside Villa Park would have had a bet against them as Achraf Hakimi and Nuno Mendes put PSG 2-0 up inside the first half-hour.

"Start the car," said one despondent Villa fan. It is to be hoped he did not follow his own advice otherwise he would have missed a thriller that left the stadium knee-deep in chewed fingernails by the final whistle.

Instead of subsiding, Villa rose to rattle PSG in a manner that was well beyond Manchester City and Liverpool in previous Champions League rounds this season.

Youri Tielemans got one back, then it really was game on when John McGinn and Ezri Konsa struck twice in three minutes early in the second half.

PSG's inexperience was exposed, but the brilliant keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma saved superbly from Marcus Rashford, Tielemans and Marco Asensio to repel Villa's assault.

In a deafening wall of sound and with PSG being given a fearful going over, Emery actually threw himself to the floor in a mixture of despair and disbelief when Konsa just failed to make contact with a header and the goal at his mercy.

The great comeback was just beyond Villa, but in the disappointment there was glory.

The task now is for Villa and Emery to ensure they are back on the Champions League stage next season because nights like this - and triumphs such as those against Bayern Munich earlier in the campaign - will have whetted the appetite and more.

Those Villa will count on in the future, such as Konsa, Morgan Rogers and Boubacar Kamara, will benefit hugely from being exposed to the quality they faced at this level, while other such as keeper Emiliano Martinez, McGinn and Tielemans will believe this is their natural stage.

Emery will also store away the knowledge and experience of this season, making it instantly clear he wants more, saying: "It is now most important to get Europe again. The most important competition is the Champions League.

"The challenge we have for the last six matches in the Premier League is to try and get Europe and the Champions League."

He added: "To get this level is the next step forward that I want to try to build with Aston Villa."

Emery's standards are sky high, saying: "We are in a process. This is a higher level we have achieved. We want to test ourselves and how we respond. I am so proud, happy, confident in our standards. Hopefully we can come back quickly.

"Our squad showed it can respond at this level. We competed. They deserve to be here. We are ambitious. It is a big challenge and we want the club to push for this level."

Whether Rashford, on loan from Manchester United, will be part of wherever Villa are next season remains to be seen.

He struggled desperately through the first half here before mirroring Villa's own effort with a transformed second half performance, in which he set up Konsa's goal and was left in disbelief when a shot he thought was arrowing towards the top corner was turned away by the twisting Donnarumma.

Rashford was given the nod ahead of England striker Ollie Watkins, who has been nursing a knee injury and only came on for the last 14 minutes.

The final whistle at first brought groans of despair followed by a standing ovation for Villa's players and Emery as he marched down the touchline.

Villa left nothing out there at Villa Park in their quest to reach the semi-final.

And Emery, who has made Europe his speciality, will want this to be just the start of Villa's Champions League experiences.