Unai Emery sets Aston Villa stars new target after heartbreaking Champions League exit to PSG – and insists defeat was still the ‘highest’ point in his reign

Unai Emery challenged Aston Villa to force their way into the Champions League next season after their heartbreaking quarter-final exit to Paris Saint-Germain.

With the Prince of Wales among the crowd at Villa Park, Villa fought back from 2-0 down to win 3-2 – but were knocked out 5-4 on aggregate thanks to PSG’s 3-1 victory in last week’s first leg in France.

In the Premier League Villa are only one point shy of fifth place, which should guarantee entry to next season’s Champions League – and have key games against rivals Newcastle and Manchester City coming up.

‘It is now most important to get Europe again,’ Emery said. ‘The most important competition is the Champions League. The challenge we have for the last six matches is to try and get Europe and the Champions League.

‘Getting to this level is the next step forward, I want to try to win with Aston Villa. We played two legs, we competed well. In the process we are doing here, tonight was the highest level we achieved.

‘In the Champions League against teams like PSG is when we can test how we are respinding. I am so happy and confident about how we are raising our standards.

He insists being dumped out of the Champions League by PSG is still their ‘highest level’ yet

Ezri Konsa, who scored, said they had proved their belonging among the elite at Villa Park

‘The players have shown their capacity to play at this level – beating Bayern Munich, beating PSG. Our ambition is to be consistent in every competition, with the players we have or adding more quality players in case we need them.

‘I am very confident in our ability to get our objectives this season as long as we work hard until the final games we play.’

Early goals from Achraf Hakimi and Nuno Mendes put PSG in control, but Youri Tielemans’ deflected strike not long before half-time gave Villa hope.

And when John McGinn and Ezri Konsa scored twice in four second-half minutes, Villa believed the comeback was possible, and only the stunning saves of Gianluigi Donnarumma denied them. When Ian Maatsen’s stoppage-time volley was blocked, PSG were finally home and dry.

Konsa said: ‘We have shown tonight we can compete at the highest level and want to do it next season. I thought we would get another one. It looked that way, we applied a lot of pressure and Ian Maatsen had the chance. We are very proud of what we’ve done tonight but the two goals at the start killed us.’

After a quiet first half, Marcus Rashford performed superbly after the break. His run and shot drew a stunning stop from Donnarumma and then the on-loan Manchester United man showed fabulous trickery to set up the third for Konsa.

Rashford’s future will be determined at the end of the campaign and Emery added: ‘He’s feeling comfortable and better, today he played a fantastic match. If he’s happy, we are happy. It [signing him in the summer] is difficult to plan now. Then, of course, it depends on the circumstances and what happens in the next weeks, and [what we have] in the next year as well.’