Ousmane Dembele refused to accept the man-of-the-match award after Paris Saint-Germain survived an almighty scare against Aston Villa to reach the Champions League semi-finals.
PSG entered tonight’s quarter-final second leg as the overwhelming favourites to advance through having come from behind to win the first leg 3-1 in Paris.
A pair of early goals from Achraf Hakimi and Nuno Mendes made it 5-1 on aggregate to seemingly put the tie to bed, but Villa had other ideas, with Youri Tielemans and John McGinn netting either side of half-time to set up an intriguing finish.
Ezri Konsa’s composed 57th-minute strike – after some sublime wing play from Marcus Rashford – took the roof off Villa Park and sent the hosts within a goal of forcing extra time versus a team many have been tipping for this year’s title.
Unai Emery’s men ultimately came up short at the death, though, and PSG had Gianluigi Donnarumma to thank for their progression after an inspired goalkeeping performance from the giant Italian.
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But eyebrows were raised as Dembele was surprisingly named as the official man of the match over Donnarumma – and the forward had a face like thunder as he posed for the customary pitch-side photographs while clutching the prize.
Footage captured shortly after the presentation showed Dembele flat-out refusing to take back the award, before storming straight down the tunnel.
Speaking to Canal+ once the dust had settled, Dembele suggested PSG had given Villa a route back in by assuming the tie was already dead.
‘We thought we were too good. At 2-1, we thought we were already qualified and that it was over,’ Dembele told the French television channel.
‘That’s how the Champions League goes. You face teams whose supporters are as hot as that and they can turn the game on its head.
‘We will have to be more demanding in the semi-finals.’
Dembele hopes the experience serves as a lesson for PSG going forward, with Luis Enrique’s side aiming to become the first Champions League winners in the club’s history.
‘This match will serve us well for the future,’ the France international added.
‘We’ve qualified, we’re happy. We’ll get back to work.
‘We’ll try to do our best to reach the final.’
PSG captain Marquinhos echoed Dembele’s remarks, urging his team-mates to learn from the mistakes they made across the tie.
‘We wanted to play a complete match, but there was a drop in intensity at 2-0,’ the Brazilian defender said.
‘This team is growing, but there are always things to work on.
‘We have a demanding coach and we will look at the mistakes that we made and correct them for the semi-finals.’
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