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“It was a poor touch from him”- Alan Shearer exposes Aston Villa player after Embarrassing PSG Start
Alan Shearer Criticizes Rashford Before He Sparks Astonishing Villa Comeback Against PSG
Marcus Rashford was named in the starting lineup for Aston Villa in Tuesday’s crucial Champions League quarter-final second leg against PSG, but suffered a costly lapse early on that contributed to the French side’s opening goal.
Alan Shearer placed early blame on Marcus Rashford after Aston Villa conceded a quick goal to Paris Saint-Germain — but the Manchester United loanee later responded in spectacular fashion.
Villa, already trailing 3-1 from the first leg in Paris, couldn’t afford an early setback in the return fixture.
The hosts started with intent, and Rashford found himself in a promising position on the edge of PSG’s box. However, a heavy touch allowed PSG captain Marquinhos to step in and dispossess him.
That mistake proved costly. PSG launched a lightning-fast counter-attack, with Nuno Mendes feeding Bradley Barcola down the left flank. Barcola drove into the final third before cutting the ball back for Ousmane Dembele.
Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez got a hand to the cross but only managed to deflect it into the path of Achraf Hakimi, who made no mistake.
The goal, just 11 minutes in, gave PSG a commanding 4-1 lead on aggregate and severely dented Villa’s hopes of advancing.
While Shearer acknowledged Martinez’s part in the goal, he singled out Rashford’s miscontrol as the pivotal moment. Commentating for Amazon Prime, the former Newcastle striker said:
“It was a poor touch from Marcus Rashford, just on the edge of the 18-yard box. You could see he was trying to cut in on his right foot and curl one, but the touch let him down, and Marquinhos pounced.
As soon as PSG won it back, their only thought was to go forward. Villa were far too exposed at the back.”
Rashford started the game as Villa’s central striker, with Ollie Watkins left out of the starting XI. The England international joined Villa on loan from Manchester United during the January window.
Though Shearer was critical of Rashford, fellow pundit and United legend Wayne Rooney defended him, arguing that the forward was let down by those around him.
“They were in a great position for the first goal — exactly where you want Rashford. Yes, it’s a bad touch, but you don’t expect to concede from that moment,” Rooney said.
“Kamara should have held his ground in the middle after Cash went forward, but he didn’t. Then Cash didn’t recover quickly enough. It was really sloppy.”
Villa’s night got worse when PSG struck again 15 minutes later. This time, Hakimi turned provider, setting up Dembele, who found Mendes in the box to calmly slot home and make it 5-1 on aggregate.
However, Villa managed to pull one back late in the first half. Rashford played a key role in the move, threading a ball to John McGinn, who teed up Youri Tielemans.
The Belgian’s shot deflected off Willian Pacho and crept past Gianluigi Donnarumma.
After the break, Villa produced a remarkable turnaround. In the space of just three minutes, they scored twice to completely shift the momentum.
McGinn leveled on the night with a deflected strike before Rashford brilliantly assisted Ezri Konsa, who put Villa ahead at Villa Park — bringing them within one goal of PSG on aggregate.
