Aston Villa face Barcelona at the Camp Nou in the Champions League on Tuesday night, unbeaten in the competition so far this season. For their manager, Unai Emery, it is his first Champions League return to the stadium since his Paris Saint-Germain side lost 6-1 there in March 2017, one of the most famous collapses in European football.
What happened
At his pre-match press conference in Barcelona, Emery was asked about the night in 2017 that Spanish football calls the remontada, or comeback. The Guardian reports that his PSG team arrived with a 4-0 lead from the first leg of a quarter-final, and that a Barcelona side led by Neymar, Lionel Messi and Luis Suárez overturned it with a seventh and final goal late on. Emery said at the time that there was “no explanation for what happened.”
Nine years on, he sounded calmer. “What happened in that match we know,” he told reporters. “I started coaching in 2004, 22 years in a row. I’ve played in Europe 16 years in a row. And I’ve learnt in all the competitions and matches. And in that match I learnt so, so much.”
The Guardian points out that the defeat did not end his time in Paris. Emery stayed for another season, won a domestic treble and has since added two more European trophies with later clubs. His record against Barcelona is still poor. According to the paper, he has managed 30 games against them with AlmerÃa, Valencia, Spartak Moscow, Sevilla, PSG and Villarreal, and won only three, with 21 defeats.
Villa come into this game in good form. They have won all three of their Champions League matches and sit behind the leaders, PSG, only on goals scored. The Guardian notes that, depending on other results, Villa could go top of the 36-team league table with a win.
Emery called Barcelona “one of the favourites to win the competition” and said his players had talked through their European experiences of the past two seasons. “This year we have won three matches and done fantastic work,” he said. “Tomorrow we are facing one of the favourites to win the competition so we are going to face a huge challenge.”
The Villa captain, John McGinn, sat next to Emery at the press conference. He said he had been to the Camp Nou only once before, as an eight-year-old on holiday, on the day Ricardo Quaresma was unveiled as a Barcelona player. McGinn talked about his journey with the Villa supporters from the Championship to the top level of European football, praised Barcelona’s humility and work ethic, and said Villa had the players to hurt them.
Why it matters if you live in United Kingdom
If you have moved to the UK and are getting to know English football, this match shows how far Villa have come. The Birmingham club are among the strongest English sides in Europe this season, and McGinn’s comments are a reminder that many of their fans watched the team in the second tier not long ago.
The game also ties into a debate in English football this week. The Guardian reports that the former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher said there is “a food chain” in English football, with Villa naturally below Manchester United, so Emery would always want to move up to the bigger club. The paper also mentions speculation that Emery could be asked to take the Manchester United job. Its writer rejects Carragher’s argument, saying Villa are “pushing hard at the envelope” and that money, not some fixed order, has created the divisions in the Premier League. A good result in Barcelona would feed straight into that argument on British sports programmes and social media.
The Guardian also looks at the competition itself. It describes the expanded Champions League format, with its single 36-team table, as often shapeless and predictable in the autumn. It picks out this match as one of the exceptions, calling it “a genuine staging point” for Villa’s supporters. Fans in the UK hoping to follow European football this season may find that only some group-stage fixtures matter this much.
The source does not give details of tickets or television coverage, so check the club’s official channels and your usual broadcaster for viewing information.
What to watch next
Team news may affect the result. The Guardian reports that Barcelona are expected to be without Dani Olmo, Andreas Christensen, Eric GarcÃa and Xavi Espart, which could leave them weaker in defence. For Villa, Nicholas Jackson is expected to be fit to start after playing 90 minutes at the weekend.
The paper expects Villa to be aggressive and to press high, using their physical strength against a young Barcelona side built on La Masia academy players and fluent possession football. The Guardian also notes that the Camp Nou is still being renovated, with hoardings and rubble around the outside.
After the final whistle, look at the league table. A win would give Villa four from four and could put them top, depending on PSG’s result. Beyond this game, the Manchester United question is likely to stay around Emery for as long as Villa keep winning. For now, Emery said his focus was on “one more match.”
Source: The Guardian
Sources
- The Guardian: Don’t call it a remontada: Emery’s Camp Nou comeback focuses European blur, accessed 3 November 2026
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