PARIS, France (AFP) — Khvicha Kvaratskhelia scored one of the great Champions League goals as Paris Saint-Germain came from behind to beat Aston Villa 3-1 in the first leg of their quarter-final tie on Wednesday.

Morgan Rogers had given Villa a 35th-minute lead at the Parc des Princes to silence the home fans, but PSG were quickly back level through a fine strike by Desire Doue.

Kvaratskhelia then took centre stage with a stunning effort on 49 minutes, before Nuno Mendes added a crucial third in stoppage time, giving PSG a significant two-goal cushion to take into the return in Birmingham next Tuesday.

Having eliminated Liverpool in the last 16, Luis Enrique’s team are now in a very strong position to reach the semi-finals for the second season running.

“We are happy with this result but we have to keep going because there is the second game and the job is not finished,” Kvaratskhelia told broadcaster Canal Plus, before claiming he could not clearly recall his sublime goal.

“It was OK. I didn’t remember it exactly but now I will check inside so I will see if it was quite good.”

Villa, who had Prince William in the Paris crowd backing them along with his son George, will need to produce a memorable fightback at home if they are to make the last four of Europe’s elite club competition for the first time since they lifted the trophy in 1982.

“We managed to get the opening goal which is about the hardest thing to do, but we were up against a great team. You have to admit that,” Lucas Digne told Canal Plus.

“They produced moments of brilliance. Now we have to do the job in the return. We will have to open up a bit more but it is still doable.”

Villa can perhaps take inspiration from what happened the last time their coach Unai Emery faced Luis Enrique in the Champions League.

Back in 2017, Emery’s PSG thumped Barcelona 4-0 at home in the first leg of a last-16 tie, only to collapse at the Camp Nou and lose 6-1 to Luis Enrique’s Catalans.

The latter, now hoping to lead PSG to their first Champions League crown, was without suspended skipper Marquinhos here and also left Bradley Barcola on the bench for the first time in this European campaign.

That meant Doue and Kvaratskhelia completed the home attack along with leading scorer Ousmane Dembele.

Villa came into this game on a run of seven straight wins in all competitions, as Marco Asensio, on loan from PSG, started as a substitute against his parent club.

The visitors were happy to sit back and the first half took place almost exclusively in their half, with Dembele setting the tone from a sizzling early strike which was tipped over by Emiliano Martinez.

The Argentinian goalkeeper, a hero for his country in the 2022 World Cup final against France, was loudly jeered throughout and had a busy night.

– Villa strike first –
However, Villa snatched the lead against the run of play in the 35th minute.

Captain John McGinn robbed Mendes just inside the Villa half and picked out Marcus Rashford on the left. He then slipped in Youri Tielemans whose ball across the face of goal left Rogers with an easy finish.

PSG hit back quickly, with Martinez nearly spilling a Doue shot over the line before the equaliser came from the resulting corner.

The hosts worked the ball from right to left to Doue, who stepped towards the penalty area before curling a wonderful shot beyond Martinez into the far corner.

It was the latest moment of magic from the 19-year-old, who recently won his first France cap, but his strike was eclipsed by that of Kvaratskhelia as the Georgian put PSG ahead four minutes after half-time.

Emery replaced Matty Cash at half-time with the right-back having been booked for a foul on Kvaratskhelia.

Axel Disasi came on but had no answer as Kvaratskhelia was released on the left by Fabian Ruiz and advanced into the box.

The former Napoli winger mesmerised Disasi as he rolled his studs over the ball before smashing a thunderous shot past Martinez, in off the near post.

Villa sent on a raft of substitutes including Asensio as they tried to find a way back into the game, while Achraf Hakimi had an effort disallowed for the hosts.

Dembele then released Mendes to round Martinez and make it 3-1 in stoppage time, leaving PSG with one foot in the semi-finals.