Unai Emery has come under fire for replacing Marcus Rashford as Aston Villa pursued a goal in their painful Champions League quarter-final loss to Paris Saint-Germain. Rashford, 27, rebounded from a terrible start to the game with a brilliant second half display.
His assist for Ezri Konsa’s goal, which gave Villa the lead on the night and reduced the deficit to 5-4 on aggregate, stood out, as he slid past Fabian Ruiz and cut the ball back inside the penalty area. Rashford was given the nod over Villa attacker Ollie Watkins for the third game in a row, which raised eyebrows.
However, Emery’s decision to substitute the Manchester United loanee in the 76th minute prompted even more discussion. Rashford’s number came up as Villa led 3-2 in the second leg but needed one more goal to force extra time.
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Former Liverpool and Villa defender Stephen Warnock was astonished, telling BBC Radio 5 Live: “I don’t know what Unai Emery saw, but given Marcus Rashford’s performance, he got it wrong. Rashford was great.
“Rashford was involved in everything, and everything positive was coming from him. When he made that substitution, the tempo seemed to slow down. You need a goal, so 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.”
Dublin also said: “Marcus Rashford didn’t score, but the energy levels that he had… he was making those defenders make mistakes. For me, he was man of the match for Villa.”
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