Aston Villa have made it to the last 8 of the Champions League, brushing aside Club Brugge in the round of 16 and setting up a blockbuster clash with French giants Paris Saint-Germain - and fans in the Birmingham Live comments section are amazed at the contributions of club's January transfer window haul.
Villa beat Club Brugge 3-0 to make it 6-1 on aggregate, playing against 10 men for the majority of the time thanks to Marcus Rashford forcing a red card out of right-back Kyriani Sabbe. Leon Bailey helped Marco Asensio to open the scoring in a second half flurry, with Maatsen taking the second and Marcus Rashford assisting Asensio for another.
Rashford and Asensio, the two headline acquisitions from the January transfer window, have proven to be astute signings. Asked about the possibility of taking Asensio on permanently, Unai Emery said: “It depends. We are happy with him. We are protecting him because he is not feeling 100 per cent in the last matches he played. Today he was feeling good. He wanted to start the match, but I decided to protect him as well. How he played for 45 minutes was fantastic for us.
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“He took the responsibility to do his task like we planned, scoring goals. How he is connecting with other players, keeping possession and getting in good positions is really important for us."
Reader Smashed says: “Absolutely awesome, Villa played the first half very much how I expected them to, although it was not to my liking it was an Emery masterclass. Rashford had a superb game, combined with Asensio for yet another goal in what is becoming a great partnership already. Asensio and Rashford have now combined for 4 goals and Asensio has bagged 7."
Commenter Morrison123 writes: “All you can say is that the Asensio and Rashford signings have upped the levels at the club and have taken us to the next level... added to Emery who knows what it takes to win in Europe, it just shows that you lose Duran a few days before the window shuts and these two players are now the envy of most clubs in the PL.
"Monchi and Emery don't usually get things wrong, but when they do they know how to turn a losing hand into a winning hand. I expect both to be at the club next season.”
Gapfly says: “7 goals in 5 games by Asensio has now stopped the moaners from going on about Duran." Mikecoolruler adds: “Paris here we come! Great contribution from Marcus, but what about Asensio, he is a player to win the trophy.”
UTV writes: “Rashford was sensational today. How many chances did he create? Man of the Match for me." Reader Therealwaysbeanengland says: “Thankfully we had the quality of Asensio to call on in the 2nd half to totally change the game”
Vanquish has high hopes: ”Slow first half, but the team played well in the second half and got the win. I wouldn’t be surprised if Asensio scored more goals than Watkins this season. Onto the next. UTV!”
Villaman writes: “I have said this for a while that we need to put our best lineup on the pitch at all times. Asensio is playing brilliantly right now and should always be included. Hope that Rashford scores soon to get him going. Incredible win.”
Have your say! Should Villa pull out all the stops to sign Rashford and Asensio in the summer? Comment below, and join in on the conversation.
