Marcus Rashford, a loanee from Manchester United, was unable to motivate Aston Villa, who lost 3-1 to Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of their Champions League quarterfinal match.
In the 35th minute, Villa’s in-form midfielder Morgan Rogers gave them the lead against the flow of play.
After winning the ball from Nuno Mendes close to the halfway line, John McGinn sprinted up the field and made a nice pass to Rashford. Rashford invited Youri Tielemans to send a spectacular low cross into Rogers at the far post by playing in the inside-left channel.
However, Desire Doue’s incredible curling effort beat Emi Martinez and struck the underside of the bar before heading into the game, cutting Villa’s lead short to four minutes.
Shortly after halftime, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia put PSG ahead with a fierce shot into the net’s roof, leaving Axel Disasi on the ground.
Mendes’ third goal in stoppage time moved PSG one step closer to the Champions League semifinals.
Rashford was chosen by Unai Emery to lead Villa’s line once more. This strategy has worked well in recent games, but on Wednesday night in the French capital, it didn’t provide the same outcomes.
Rashford, whose most noteworthy contributions have come as the visitors’ outlet during their attempts to counterattack, was not as dangerous in front of goal as he has been since joining Villa on loan.
After 79 minutes on the field, the Carrington academy graduate was substituted by Ollie Watkins.
Whether his shot was on or off target, Rashford was unable to register it. He started three dribbles, but only finished one.
The 27-year-old touched the ball 29 times and completed 17 of his 23 passes (74% pass accuracy) to find his Villa teammates.
He participated in three ground duels, winning only one, and lost the one aerial challenge he faced.
Neither a tackle nor an interception was made by Rashford. Eight times he lost possession.
Like many of the Villa players, he didn’t have a terrible game, but he will probably feel that he could have done a little more.
Villa has a mountain to climb in the second leg after Mendes’ late goal, but the match is far from over.