BBC pundit baffled after what Emery did to Rashford in PSG win – ‘Why?’
Marcus Rashford was outstanding for Aston Villa in the 3-2 win over Paris Saint-Germain.
The Manchester United loanee was chosen to lead the line over Ollie Watkins in a surprising move given the former’s performance in the first leg (9 April).
However, the 27-year-old justified Unai Emery’s decision when he notched an assist for Ezri Konsa’s goal that left the Villans needing just one goal to take it to extra time.
Emery slammed for Rashford call in PSG victory
Despite Rashford’s impact against the Parisians, Emery chose to take him off in the 76th minute for his England teammate.
However, Stephen Warnock believes that this was the wrong decision and he should have put Watkins alongside the Old Trafford loanee.
Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live (15 April, 22:08 pm), he said: “I don’t know what Unai Emery saw, with the way Marcus Rashford was playing, he got it wrong. Rashford was brilliant.
“Rashford was involved in everything and everything which was good was coming from him, it felt like the tempo dropped when he made that substitution. You need a goal – why are you taking a striker off?
“If you want to pin PSG back, you play Rashford and Watkins in between the full-back and centre-halves and you stretch those balls over the top.”
Villa needed Rashford to stay on the pitch
Villa needed just one goal to force extra time and potentially progress to the semi-finals but substituted two of their best players in the contest and their momentum faded.
Rashford and John McGinn had been key to the Villa Park outfit’s comeback but Emery made the decision to take them off and ultimately, Warnock is right, it was the wrong decision.
| Stats | Rashford |
| Chances created | 4 |
| Touches in opposition box | 12 |
| Shots on target | 2 |
| Assists | 1 |
| Minutes played | 76 |
Two strikers would have given the Villans a better chance of scoring the goal that they needed, it was not the time for caution, it was a time to go all out with an extra attacker.
Emery will learn from his mistakes and will now know what it takes to get through in a tie like this, so it should stand the Midlands club in good stead for the future.
Their focus now must be on securing a Champions League berth for next season, as they are just one point behind fifth-place Manchester City in the league and vying for the final qualification spot.
The B6 outfit are in a great position to end the season strongly, they have won their last four league matches and just need to continue their positive momentum to achieve their ambitions.
Finding a way to fit both Watkins and Rashford into the starting line-up may be crucial to their chances.