Thierry Henry criticises Unai Emery's approach after Aston Villa's UEFA Champions League exit

Liam Williams Published: 16 Apr 25 09:46

Thierry Henry says Unai Emery’s overly cautious setup in the first half was to blame for Aston Villa’s UEFA Champions League exit to Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday night.

A sensational first-leg performance from PSG put them 3-1 up in the tie, meaning Villa needed to win by at least two goals at Villa Park, but quickly found themselves 2-0 down on the night inside half an hour through goals from Achraf Hakimi and Nuno Mendes.

Emery lined up with a midfield five of Boubacar Kamara, Amadou Onana, Youri Tielemans, John McGinn and Morgan Rogers, and Henry believes the Villa boss showed too much respect to their opponents.

Speaking on CBS, Henry said: “What I thought Emery didn’t do so well in the first half, he thought about stopping them more than he thought about attacking them. This is why he went five in midfield, trying to make it difficult for them instead of thinking ‘how can we attack them?’”

Unai Emery determined to take Aston Villa to new heights

Villa were restricted to just five attempts on goal in the first half, with Tielemans’ deflected effort in the 34th minute giving the hosts a glimmer of hope.

Needing three unanswered goals in the second half, Villa threw the kitchen sink at PSG, but Henry feels the gung-ho approach came too late.

“When you’re 2-1 down, there’s nothing about stopping them anymore, but you’re already behind from the first leg,” said Henry. “Having said that, they made it a game; I couldn’t see that coming.”

Despite needing four goals, Villa found themselves on the brink of taking the game to extra time. Tielemans was superbly denied a second goal by an inspired Gianluigi Donnarumma on the hour mark, with the Italian stopping Villa’s biggest chance through Marco Asensio.

Villa’s last big moment came through Ezri Konsa – scorer of the third goal – when he failed to make a telling connection with Marcus Rashford’s superb cross.

While the electric atmosphere and the result on the night will live long in the memory of the Villa Park faithful, the club will hope it’s not their last foray into the UEFA Champions League, using the performance as a platform to build on for the rest of the campaign.

Emery’s men are three points behind fifth-placed Manchester City, but still have trips to the Eithad, Selhurst Park, the Vitality Stadium and Old Trafford before the season’s out, and a return to the Europa League looks more likely.

The good news for Villa fans is that they have someone in their dugout who’s won the Europa League on no fewer than four occasions…

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