PSG beat Bayern Munich to Doue’s signature based on last season at Rennes. He scored four goals and had four assists in 31 Ligue 1 appearances with 17 starts last term, but also created 27 chances from open play.
This season he has reached another level, having created the most open play chances per 90 minutes of anyone in Europe’s top five leagues – 2.6 based on having played a minimum of 750 minutes.
This term, among midfielders and forwards, only Ousmane Dembele (13.5) has averaged more progressive ball carries than his 12.4 per 90 minutes in Ligue 1.
Doue has an impressive 22 goal involvements this season at a rate of one every 105.8 minutes, evenly split into 11 goals and 11 assists. Only Dembele (39) and Barcola (33) have contributed to more goals for PSG this season.
He has scored in each of his past four appearances for PSG in all competitions with five goals, and now has 13 goal involvements in his past 12 games, with eight goals and five assists.
Doue is a free spirit in possession with a devastating turn of pace and glorious touch, and has a golden future.
Alongside him, and a constant threat to Villa, was 24-year-old Kvaratskhelia, whose occasionally languid, jinking style cannot disguise the sort of natural gifts that saw him earn the nickname ‘Kvaradona’ when he came to prominence at Diego Maradona’s former club Napoli. There, he tormented Liverpool when Jurgen Klopp’s team were beaten 4-1 in Italy in the Champions League in 2021.
He troubled Matty Cash throughout the first half before the defender was substituted, but his replacement Axel Disasi was outmanoeuvred instantly by the Georgian, twisting and turning the defender before unleashing an unstoppable shot high past Martinez.
Add in Dembele, who is finally fulfilling all that was predicted for him when he was at Barcelona, and PSG currently have claim to be Europe’s best team.
They thrashed Manchester City 4-2 here in the new league table format stage, then recovered from losing at home to a late Liverpool smash-and-grab before winning at Anfield and going through on penalties.
Now, at last, there is real belief that PSG are finally ready to put their years of Champions League suffering behind them and win Europe’s elite trophy.
PSG are a joy to watch under Luis Enrique, who won the Champions League with Barcelona in 2015, and the vast bowl of Parc des Princes is a cauldron of noise and expectation.
There was even a nod to Birmingham-based TV series Peaky Blinders for Villa before kick-off, when a giant tifo emblazoned with a skull wearing a flat cap bearing the message “By Order Of The PSG SG Fans” was unfurled.
PSG delivered in style, running Villa ragged as Unai Emery made an unhappy return to the club where he spent two seasons. Villa gave game chase, but ultimately PSG were too good.
They posted a passing accuracy of 94.5% in this match, their highest on record in a single Champions League game, the fifth highest overall and the second highest in a knockout stage game – all since 2003-04.
PSG had 29 shots to Aston Villa’s seven. It is a sign of their potency that this was the fifth time since the start of last season they have had 20 or more shots than their opponents in a Champions League match, the joint-most of any side with Manchester City.
And Dembele created nine chances against Villa, the most on record (since 2003-04) in a Champions League match for PSG, and the most by a player overall since Joshua Kimmich for Bayern Munich against PSG in April 2021, when he created 10.
In the past 10 seasons, PSG have reach one final – losing to Bayern Munich in 2020 – two semi-finals, two quarter-finals and gone out five times in the last-16 stage of the Champions League.
On this compelling evidence, they may at last be ready to take the final step.
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