Aston Villa fans will love what Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembele said about them this year
Aston Villa had a role to play in Ousmane Dembele’s route to winning the Ballon d’Or.
Under Unai Emery, last season, the Villans were a force to be reckoned with, particularly at Villa Park with the claret and blue faithful behind them.
This feels like a long way away already, with Villa most recently drawing to Sunderland, despite playing against 10 men for nearly an hour.
It is fair to say that this has caused widespread frustration, especially after being dumped out of the Carabao Cup by Brentford on penalties.
With that being said, Villa fans can finally have something to be happy about, with comments from Dembele emerging that showcase just how good the B6 club can be.
Ousmane Dembele shows love for Aston Villa
It is fair to say that the Midlands club will have scary memories of Dembele after facing off against him as Villa fell to aggregate defeat against PSG in the Champions League last season.
The France international grabbed two assists across the two legs, with the Parisians narrowly progressing through to the semi-final of Europe’s elite competitions.
This came despite the best efforts of Marcus Rashford for Villa against PSG, as Ezri Konsa’s strike brought Villa within touching distance of levelling the tie.
Although it wasn’t to be, there is no hiding away from just how good the Villans were in B6 on that night against the eventual European champions.
This saw future Ballon d’Or winner Dembele speak out via Canal+ on 15 April, showcasing how dangerous Villa were up against Luis Enrique’s side.
He said: “We thought we were too good. At 2-1, we thought we were already qualified and that it was over.
“That’s how the Champions League goes. You face teams whose supporters are white-hot, and they can turn the game on its head.”
Aston Villa miles off their performance level vs PSG
There haven’t been many better memories for the Villans in recent years, if not ever, that sit in the same category as the 3-2 win over PSG.
The tie might have ended in the away side’s favour, but there was no shortage of praise for the claret and blue side as the home faithful were left proud of their team.
| Stat | Aston Villa | PSG |
| Expected goals | 2.05 | 1.69 |
| Shots | 17 | 14 |
| Big chances | 6 | 3 |
| Successful dribbles | 15 | 6 |
By comparison, there is little to be positive about now, and that sums up just how far Villa have fallen in such a small period of time.
With that being said, it is clear that this performance level remains in the squad and needs to be unleashed before the season gets away from everyone in B6.
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