Marco Asensio shined as Aston Villa defeated 10-man Club Brugge 3-0 on Wednesday, securing a Champions League quarter-final clash with Paris Saint-Germain. Coming off the bench, Asensio scored twice in the second half of the last-16 second leg at Villa Park. The in-form Spanish forward has now netted seven goals since joining on loan from PSG in the January transfer window, setting up a reunion with his parent club in the quarter-finals. Brugge’s Kyriani Sabbe was sent off early in the first half for a professional foul on Marcus Rashford, and Asensio ensured Villa capitalized on the advantage.
Ian Maatsen scored between Asensio’s brace as Unai Emery’s side cruised to a 6-1 aggregate victory. With Prince William, a noted Villa fan, celebrating in the stands, the Premier League club advanced to the quarter-finals of Europe’s elite club competition for the first time in 42 years. Their last appearance in the European Cup—the precursor to the Champions League—was in the 1982-83 season when they were eliminated by Juventus at the quarter-final stage.
Emery’s men are the first team to reach the Champions League quarter-finals in their debut season in the competition since Atalanta in 2019-20. Their campaign has included notable victories against Bayern Munich, RB Leipzig, and Celtic. Next up is PSG, who advanced after a penalty shoot-out win against Liverpool on Tuesday.
Facing PSG in April will hold extra significance for Emery, who spent two turbulent seasons in charge of the French club, winning the Ligue 1 title in 2018 but struggling in the Champions League. This is only the second time Emery
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