PSG must exorcise Champions League demons against Aston Villa  | OneFootball

You can forgive Paris Saint-Germain supporters who may not feel so confident about their teams’ chances of making the UEFA Champions League semifinals, even with their current advantage.

Despite holding a 3-1 advantage over Aston Villa heading to Birmingham on Tuesday, the French champions have a history of failing to finish the job in these ties.

This is the eighth time Les Parisiens have an advantage of two or more goals after leg one of a Champions League tie. On three of the previous seven times they had that big of a cushion heading into a decisive match in this competition, PSG were eliminated.

The last time they blew a two-goal advantage heading into the second leg of a Champions League tie was in the 2019 Round of 16. They squandered a 2-0 lead, losing 3-1 to Manchester United in leg two and losing out on away goals, a tiebreaker they won’t have to worry about against Villa.

Their most infamous second-leg collapse came in the 2017 round of 16 versus Barcelona. After winning the opening leg 4-0, Les Parisiens, coached by current Aston Villa boss Unai Emery at the time, appeared to be home and dry and destined for the quarterfinals.

Current PSG boss Luis Enrique was in charge of Barça at that time, and his side taught Les Parisens a hard lesson about what can happen with complacency. Barça won the match 6-1 and advanced from that tie 6-5 on aggregate.

PSG are in the driver’s seat after leg one against Villa, but they know better than most that a tie is not over until the final whistle in leg two.

GFFN | Joel Lefevre