Morgan Rogers, Dom Solanke react to Marcus Rashford’s message after Aston Villa exit
Marcus Rashford issued a rallying cry to Aston Villa’s fans after their Champions League quarter-final exit to PSG.
Villa’s impressive Champions League run came to an agonising end on Tuesday despite a heroic 3-2 win over Unai Emery’s former employers, losing 5-4 on aggregate thanks to PSG’s 3-1 first-leg advantage.
The Ligue 1 champions had extended their lead on the overall scoreboard to 5-1 within 27 minutes at Villa Park as Achraf Hakimi and Nuno Mendes both found the net, but Villa pulled off a huge comeback.
Youri Tielemans, John McGinn and Ezri Konsa’s goals either side of half-time – the latter two within two minutes of each other, gave Villa hope of an unlikely turnaround, but they couldn’t find a key fourth goal.
Marcus Rashford sends message after Aston Villa exit
Although Tielemans, McGinn and Konsa were the finishers of Villa’s three goals, Rashford had been their leading man until his surprise withdrawal in the 76th minute, running PSG ragged as he spearheaded the attack.
With Villa’s tails up, Rashford’s shot from the edge of the box forced a save from Gianluigi Donnarumma, and from the resultant corner, he danced through the PSG defence and crossed for Konsa to slot home.
| Aston Villa | Statistic | Paris SG |
| 3 | Goals | 2 |
| 2.05 | xG | 1.69 |
| 9 / 17 | Shots on Target | 7 / 14 |
| 34% | Possession | 66% |
| 5 | Corners | 5 |
Konsa’s strike for Villa’s third would be as good as things got for the hosts though, and F took to Instagram at full-time (15 April), with a message to their fans ahead of Villa’s final matches this season.
In his post, which was liked by both Dominic Solanke and Villa team-mate Morgan Rogers, Rashford said: “Fantastic support again tonight. We tried until the end but just couldn’t get another goal! We have to keep going as our season is still alive.”
Marcus Rashford transfer now a no-brainer for Aston Villa
Few would’ve expected to see such a level of performance on such a stage from Rashford based on his displays for Man United earlier this season, but the England forward is a player transformed at Villa Park.
Rashford starting in Villa’s biggest game of the season bar none, and over their most reliable goalscorer Ollie Watkins, makes clear that Emery sees the Old Trafford loanee as crucial to his plans going forward.
Former Man United schief scout Mick Brown told Football Insider that Villa are in “pole position” to sign Rashford permanently at season’s end, and Emery having any doubts about doing so will have been quashed after his performance against PSG.