Aston Villa marched into the Champions League quarterfinals on Wednesday with an easy 3-0 win over 10-man Club Brugge in their last-16 second leg, giving them a 6-1 aggregate victory and setting up a far tougher task next against Paris Saint-Germain.
Trailing 3-1 from the home leg, Brugge actually began the tie better and gave Villa some early scares, but they faced an impossible challenge after Kyriani Sabbe was sent off for pulling down Marcus Rashford while through on goal in the 16th minute.
Unai Emery’s team took full advantage in the second half, Marco Asensio swiveling and scoring from close range in the 50th minute after a pass from fellow substitute Leon Bailey.
Ian Maatsen side-footed Villa’s second goal with the help of a deflection seven minutes later, before Asensio swept home in the 61st minute from a cutback by the marauding Rashford, to the joy of a packed and bouncing Villa Park.
Back in Europe’s elite competition for the first time in more than four decades, Villa will have to be at their absolute best to beat French champions PSG who knocked out high-flying Liverpool on penalties at Anfield on Tuesday.
“It doesn’t get much harder than PSG over two legs,” said Villa captain John McGinn. “Paris Saint-Germain are frightening over two legs, so it’s going to be really tough. But Aston Villa are Champions League quarterfinalists, we can’t ask for much more at the minute, and we’ll strive for more, you never know.”
Villa could eventually have won by an even bigger margin, as chances went begging in a one-sided second half, but there were no complaints from their fans who roared approval as fireworks soared into the sky at the final whistle.
“It’s mad! We’re giving these fans experiences they’ll remember forever,” added McGinn. “We want to write our names in history and make these nights more frequent.”
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