Aston Villa hosted Paris Saint-Germain for the second leg of the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals, aiming to overturn a 3–1 deficit from the first leg in Paris. But before kickoff, players and fans were left stunned by a bizarre pre-match blunder.
As the teams lined up at Villa Park, prepared to soak in the iconic UEFA Champions League anthem, an unexpected tune echoed throughout the stadium—the Europa League anthem. The error caught everyone off guard, with audible confusion from the players on the pitch.
Rather than halt the proceedings, stadium staff allowed the anthem to play in full to avoid any further delay, a decision that drew mixed reactions from those involved.
PSG midfielder Fabián Ruiz was visibly confused, while Aston Villa’s Youri Tielemans and Ezri Konsa couldn’t help but laugh at the moment—Konsa even going as far as a facepalm caught clearly on the broadcast.
The winner, against a tough semifinals
PSG currently lead the tie and appear poised to advance to the semifinals, capping off a strong knockout stage run that has already seen them eliminate Stade Brestois and Liverpool.
However, the road ahead doesn’t get any easier. The winner of the PSG vs. Aston Villa clash will go on to face either Arsenal or Real Madrid. The Gunners took a commanding 3–0 win in the first leg, but Los Blancos remain hopeful of staging a comeback at the Santiago Bernabeu.
