Aston Villa cruised to victory over Club Brugge at Villa Park to secure a quarter-final clash with Paris Saint-Germain.
An early red card for Kyriani Sabbe made an already difficult task for the visitors all-but impossible as Villa ran out 3-0 winners on the night, making it 6-1 on aggregate.
An Ian Maatsen goal was sandwiched between a brace from Marco Asensio, making it seven goals in just eight games for the Spaniard since his January loan move from PSG, whom he will be available to play against in the next round.
After the game he told TNT Sports: “Very happy for the victory. I’m very happy for the team and the fans.
“Every match the atmosphere is top. We want more. Now we have a little break and to think about the upcoming objectives.
“I like to score there (Holte End). We’re adapting to the new players but we’re in the right way.
“Very comfortable. Very happy with the team-mates, the fans and the city. In one or two weeks we have time to think about this [PSG] game.”
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Asensio is a Champions League veteran having made 71 appearances in the competition and winning it on three occasions with Real Madrid, but this is unknown territory for Tyrone Mings, who joined Villa when they were playing in the Championship and is now in the quarter-final of the Europe’s showpiece.
The Villa defender told TNT Sports: “It’s good. Tough to put into words. When you’re in it, it’s hard to take it in and appreciate it, the level we’re playing at. The bar keeps raising. The Championship feels like a long time ago. I’m really enjoying the journey.
“It’s important for them [Marcus Rashford and Marco Asensio] to come in and buy into it. They come with big reputations. For them to come in, hit the ground coming, buy into the group and show their quality is so impressive.
“We didn’t get it right in the first half. It’s important to stay calm and try to figure it out at half-time.
“His experience is so valuable. The ancedotes he gives us are so important to give us a reality check on how much work still needs to be done.
“Of course [he watched the PSG game yesterday], what else was I meant to be doing? Very tough game. We’re so excited. We play in the toughest league in the world. When it comes to the Champions League, we’ll go there and give a good account of ourselves. We’ll enjoy every moment but we have a lot of firepower and quality ourselves.”
