ASENSIO MISSES TWICE, EMERY SAVES THE DAY – BUT CAN VILLA PULL IT OFF AGAINST PSG?

Aston Villa walked away from St. Mary’s with a 3-0 win over Southampton, but don’t let the scoreline fool you—this game was chaos wrapped in calm.

Marco Asensio, the man many tipped to be Villa’s X-factor, missed two penalties in the first half. Both chances, both denied by Aaron Ramsdale. For most players, that’s the stuff of nightmares. And if Villa had lost, he’d be getting cooked by fans right now.

Instead, they won. Comfortably. And the mood online? Confused, relieved, and a little bit worried.

FANS AREN’T LETTING IT SLIDE

Twitter (or X) wasn’t kind:

“Asensio’s on fraud watch. Two pens in one game? Unforgivable.”

“We won, but Asensio better be on the bench vs PSG. No excuses at that level.”

“Ramsdale just saved his career highlights reel thanks to Asensio.”

Villa fans love a win—but they know if this happened in Paris, there wouldn’t be a second half to bounce back

EMERY’S MASTERCLASS – AGAIN

So how did Villa turn it around?

Unai Emery pulled off another tactical switch-up, making key substitutions that flipped the script. Donyell Malen came on and changed the tempo. John McGinn pushed higher. The energy shifted, and suddenly, Villa were untouchable.

That’s the Emery effect. When his Plan A fails, he makes a new one on the spot—and it works.

But that raises the real question:

Can this magic touch survive PSG next week?

THE PSG QUESTION MARK

This win puts Villa in good spirits ahead of the second leg of their UCL clash with Paris Saint-Germain. But let’s be honest—PSG is not Southampton. You don’t get away with two missed penalties in a knockout game against Dembele and co.

The real test isn’t whether Villa can bounce back after a slip—it’s whether they can play flawless football for 90 minutes when it matters most.

Because against PSG, there’s no Ramsdale to bail you out. And no room for error.

FINAL WORD

Asensio’s spot-kick horror show is a warning. Villa have the depth, the mindset, and a coach with ice in his veins—but if they want to make it to the UCL semis, everyone has to show up.

No passengers.

No second chances.

No missed pens.

Next stop: Paris.