Luke Littler reacts as Morgan Rogers sends three-word Aston Villa v PSG message
Aston Villa have it all to do at Villa Park next Tuesday after going down 3-1 at the Parc des Princes against Paris Saint-Germain.
Unai Emery was in dreamland against his former side when Morgan Rogers gave the Villans a shock lead in the French capital (9 April), but the hosts came back and delivered a triple-pronged blow to head to Birmingham next week with a two-goal buffer intact.
Rogers‘ goal does however give Emery’s troops hope at what will inevitably be an electric Villa Park in four days’ time.
Luke Littler responds to Rogers message after PSG defeat
Aston Villa will have to achieve the improbable – yet not impossible – if they are to qualify for the semi-finals of this season’s Champions League.
Rogers’ goal could still be the gem which sparks a second-leg comeback, however, though Emery’s side will have to be spot on across the board to have any chance of remaining in the competition.
The belief certainly outwardly remains, as Villa’s goalscorer posted on Instagram (10 April) with a series of images captioned: “It’s not over”.
World darts champion Luke Littler, 18, is acquainted with Rogers and showed his support by liking the post from the England international.
Littler’s supported side, Manchester United, have their own European journey to consider, as they were pegged back in the dying embers of their Europa League first leg at Lyon 24 hours later to take a 2-2 draw back to Old Trafford.
Arsenal are the other English representatives left in the Champions League and will head to Real Madrid next week with an incredible 3-0 lead intact – the winner of that tie will meet Villa or PSG in the last four.
Tottenham Hotspur and Rangers also drew their first legs in the Europa League on Thursday night, while Chelsea have one foot in the Conference League semi-finals after beating Legia Warsaw 3-0.
Aston Villa have to take care of business v Southampton first
Aston Villa supporters will naturally be more determined to focus on the second leg against Luis Enrique’s seemingly unstoppable Parisian machine.
However, the beauty of juggling several different priorities means full focus must now be applied to this weekend’s Premier League trip to Southampton (12 April).
| Aston Villa – in next seven days | Date |
| Southampton (A) – Premier League | Sat 12 Apr |
| PSG (H) – Champions League QF 2L | Tue 15 Apr |
Saints were officially relegated last week after losing to Tottenham, and Ivan Juric has been sacked as manager – meaning Villa are essentially taking on a wounded animal. They have to get the job done to keep their top-five hopes on track.
The FA Cup at Wembley isn’t far away either, with Crystal Palace the opponents in what promises to be an exciting campaign end for the Villans either way.