“It left a scar on us,” says one former Paris Saint-Germain official, who was in the Camp Nou on that “traumatic” night in 2017 the club fell victim to Barcelona’s fabled ‘La Remontada’.
“When you step in there again, you can only remember what happened. Is it going to have an impact on him? I don’t know, but it’s a really terrible memory for him because it was a massive failure.”
On Tuesday evening, Unai Emery’s birthday coincided with him taking Aston Villa back to the stage that gave him, as he described, the “worst moment in his managerial career”. He has returned to the Camp Nou since, with Spanish side Villarreal, but this was his first Champions League game here since that galling evening.
“I started in 2004 coaching, so 22 years in a row,” said Emery in his pre-match media conference. “I’ve played in Europe 17 years in a row and I’ve learned in all those matches. In that match, I learned so so much.”
PSG became the first team in Champions League history to be eliminated from the knockout stages after winning a first leg 4-0. They imploded in the return tie, with Barcelona scoring in the 88th, 91st and 95th minute to inspire a jaw-dropping 6-1 win.
“The last five minutes were horrendous,” says the former PSG official, speaking anonymously to protect relationships. “The worst of our lives. I left the box where I was in with Nasser (Al-Khelaifi, PSG president) to go to the back because I could not watch anymore.”
Emery’s 55th birthday clashed with Villa’s visit to the Camp Nou. It was another showcase of the heights scaled under him, even if he had been here 15 times previously with six different teams and won just once.
Unai Emery had grim memories of his trips to Barcelona (Pedro Salado/Getty Images)
Emery continues to be rankled by several contentious refereeing decisions from that night in 2017, though. He believes that, had VAR been in use then, PSG “would have got through that tie clearly.”
Excuses did not offer mitigation to some at PSG who felt the players were too relaxed, with Emery making several tactical errors. The Spaniard, despite his lingering bitterness with VAR, later reflected on the game as a significant lesson.
In time, Emery will hope the same rings true to his players following their 3-0 defeat against Barcelona. They were ultimately overpowered and out-gunned, but there will be lingering regrets. If what John McGinn declared a day earlier proves accurate, and nights like these become “yearly experiences”, then Villa will have to be better for their experience.
Last season’s Europa League champions were reminded of what is required at the cutting edge of Europe.
Villa had nine points out of nine in the league phase, a peerless record which meant they would remain in an excellent position, regardless of what happened against Barcelona. Yet this was their first test against the elite. It called upon a higher level of rigour and execution, whether that was how frequently Villa exploited Barcelona’s customary high line, carrying out the plan to stop Lamine Yamal or playing out from defence.
They were found wanting in all three areas.
Emery’s plan faltered just seven minutes in. He had switched his midfield pivot from their usual sides, with Joao Gomes looking after the inside right channel and Boubacar Kamara patrolling the left.
Emery’s insistence on exuding control extends across all away stadiums, even this one. He did not want Zion Suzuki to go long early on, instead building in a typical manner. But with Barcelona ready to hunt, Suzuki’s pass to Gomes invited pressure. Gomes passed blindly, aiming for Pau Torres, only for Yamal to intercept and punish. Villa were a goal down through their own making, displaying a distinct naivety and a lesser level of execution of the plan.
Lamine Yamal fires Barcelona in front (Pedro Salado/Getty Images)
The set-up from the goal kick was a customary Emery build; a straight pass into a central midfielder under pressure, who passes first time to the opposite centre-back.
But given it came early in proceedings against one of the competition favourites and, with rain lashing down, on a slippery surface to receive the ball under pressure, it felt a precarious approach. Gomes also operating on the opposite side may have been a factor too, considering he is used to passing around the corner with his stronger right foot. On this occasion, he had to use his left.
“(We changed the midfield) because of different heights, mainly without the ball,” explained Emery. “We needed to press with Joao higher with Pedri and lower with Kamara with Fermin.
“Joao started not very confidently to play with the ball. Not only for the mistake he made, but that’s part of our style — I am not blaming him. But he lost Pedri in two balls before this mistake. Today is a very good experience for him at the highest level and because they were pressing so intensely.”
Villa will lament the minutes immediately after Yamal’s goal, when the ball fell to Matty Cash and Gomes from successive corners. They, along with regular transitional situations, gave Villa dangerous openings. For all their attacking force, Barcelona had not kept a Champions League clean sheet since April 2025 before Tuesday.
Nicolas Jackson broke beyond Barcelona’s backline but was tackled by goalkeeper Joan Garcia. Other passes were overhit on a skiddy surface and were indicative of Villa not being precise in their execution or bold enough in their decision-making.
Raphinha scored similarly early in the second half. Top teams are the ones who punish you the most and Villa were punished.
“A lot of things to learn today and a lot of experiences for the players,” reflected Emery. “It is giving me a lot of information to analyse to try to compete at this level.”
It was not the haunting performance Emery suffered nine years ago, nor a beating that will have wide-ranging ramifications — McGinn described it as a “learning curve”. Villa will hope that, just like Emery nine years ago, it may yet make them stronger.
