The Independent
·9 April 2025
Morgan Rogers insists Aston Villa ‘not done yet’ despite defeat to ‘deadly’ PSG

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Yahoo sportsThe Independent
·9 April 2025
Morgan Rogers has insisted that Aston Villa retain real hope of progressing in the Champions League despite a 3-1 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of their quarter-final.
Rogers opened the scoring with goal of lovely construct in the first half but PSG soon showed their class, with Desire Doue and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia producing standout moments of individual quality.
The attacking pair put the hosts ahead at the Parc des Princes before Nuno Mendes added a third, and potentially crucial, goal late on to increase the lead the French capital club will take to Villa Park next week.
The visitors battled hard in Paris and would have felt happy enough had they escaped with a 2-1 defeat, but Rogers is clear that Unai Emery’s side can still turn things around.
“It was difficult. They're a really good team and have stars all over the place,” Rogers said to TNT Sports. “It's difficult when you have to defend so much and battle. We did but in the end it was the quality from them and maybe some mistakes from us.
"We knew it would be difficult and knew how deadly they are. We didn't want to just come here and be spectators. Obviously the scoreline is not in our favour but we've got another game and we'll try and turn it around.
“We're here for a reason, we're not here to just compete. We want to keep fighting and normally we have the quality to compete with any team in the world.
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Morgan Rogers opened the scoring for Aston Villa (Action Images via Reuters)
"There's loads of belief in the changing room. We have nothing to lose, nobody thought we'd win the tie in the first place. Why not just go for it? We've definitely got the quality to turn things around. It's not done yet."
PSG dominated the ball with more than three quarters of the possession on the night, with Aston Villa only registering one more shot on target after Rogers’s goal.
Having already wrapped up the Ligue 1 title, Luis Enrique and his side can focus fully on finally conquering Europe having so far failed to secure Champions League glory.
Enrique said: "They scored that goal that felt a little difficult to accept but we just had to win that match and to score in the last minute was great for us and our confidence. We have to think about the second leg and it's going to be difficult for sure.
"It's important to believe in ourselves and the three goals were great, a lot of quality. We're very happy with the result. It will be difficult [at Villa Park] but we will try to play the same way - it's our DNA."