Live Reporting

Jonty Colman & Sarah Rendell. Edited by Frank Keogh.

1. Who are top scorers in this season’s Champions League?published at 07:48 British Summer Time

   Image source, Getty Images

   Following Tuesday night’s two quarter-final second legs, Borussia Dortmund striker Serhou Guirassy moved to 13 goals for the 2024-25 Champions League campaign.

   Guirassy is now the competition’s top scorer this term, above the Barcelona duo of Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski.

   2024-25 Champions League top scorers:

   • Serhou Guirassy (Borussia Dortmund) – 13
   • Raphinha (Barcelona) – 12
   • Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona) – 11
   • Harry Kane (Bayern Munich) – 10
   • Erling Haaland (Manchester City) – 8
2. get involved

   Get Involvedpublished at 07:41 British Summer Time

   #bbcfootball, via WhatsApp on 03301231826 or text 81111 (UK only, standard message rates apply)

   A night to be proud, frustrated or a mixture of the two?

   It was a case of what might have been for Aston Villa fans as their side fought back against Paris St-Germain but ultimately could not seal a place in the Champions League semi-finals.

   We want to hear your thoughts, Villa fans. Were you at the match – what was it like? Can they build on this European run and is there anything that might need to be done differently?

   Let us know your thoughts using #bbcfootball, via WhatsApp on 03301231826 or text 81111 (UK only, standard message rates apply).

3. Guirassy’s rise from journeyman to Champions League ‘goal machine’published at 07:34 British Summer Time

   Borussia Dortmund 3-1 Barcelona (Barcelona won 4-3 on agg)

   Emlyn Begley
   BBC Sport

   Image source, Getty Images

   Serhou Guirassy – a man with a modest career until two years ago – finds himself at the top of the Champions League scoring charts after his hat-trick against Barcelona, though it was not enough to prevent Borussia Dortmund going out.

   The striker, 29, has relegations from the German and French top tiers on his CV – and had never produced a 15-goal season until last term.

   His six transfers in a journeyman career often hit by injury have cost a combined £45m.

   But now the Guinea forward is the Champions League’s top scorer with 13 goals.

   “He has been absolutely amazing in this competition, he’s been a goalscoring machine,” two-time Champions League winner Owen Hargreaves told TNT Sports.

   “There will be a lot of teams looking at Guirassy. He’s scored all those goals for Stuttgart, now at Dortmund. A big physical presence and a natural goalscorer.”

4. Guirassy hits Dortmund treble but Barca reach semispublished at 07:26 British Summer Time

   Borussia Dortmund 3-1 Barcelona (Barcelona won 4-3 on agg)

   Emily Salley
   BBC Sport

   Image source, Getty Images

   Borussia Dortmund could not recover from a first-leg demolition by Barcelona to reach the Champions League semi-finals, despite winning a thrilling return tie 3-1 thanks to Serhou Guirassy’s hat-trick.

   The Catalan giants appeared to have all-but confirmed their place in the last four for the first time since 2019 following their crushing 4-0 win at home.

   But Dortmund put up a brave effort to come so close to a stunning turnaround in a dramatic second leg.

   They planted a seed of doubt in Barca’s minds when Guirassy cheekily chipped a ‘Panenka’ penalty over Wojciech Szczesny in the 11th minute after the Polish keeper had brought down Pascal Gross.

   The Guinea striker then halved the deficit four minutes after the break, but Dortmund’s dreams looked to have been dashed when Ramy Bensebaini sliced into his own goal just five minutes later to give the Spanish side a three-goal lead on aggregate.

   After an enormous effort, where they created and missed a host of chances and had a Gross goal ruled out for offside, it seemed like the energy had drained from the hosts before Guirassy gave them late hope and a fighting chance.

   He completed his hat-trick in the 76th minute by smashing a poor clearance into the roof of the Barcelona net.

   Substitute Julian Brandt then broke clear to rifle past Szczesny, but his side’s celebrations were cut short by an offside flag.

   It was a fabulous fightback, but Barcelona held on to reach the semi-finals of the competition for the first time since they let slip a three-goal lead in Liverpool’s famous second-leg comeback at Anfield six years ago.

   They will face either Inter Milan or Bayern Munich, with the Italian side taking a 2-1 lead back to the San Siro for Wednesday’s second leg.

5. ‘Despair for Emery, but Villa showed they belong’published at 07:19 British Summer Time

   Aston Villa 3-2 PSG (PSG won 5-4 on agg)

   Phil McNulty
   BBC Sport chief football writer at Villa Park

   Image source, Getty Images

   Unai Emery has enjoyed too much success in Europe to listen to talk of glorious failure but, if there is such a thing, Aston Villa delivered it on a night of pure theatre at Villa Park.

   Villa’s Champions League odyssey ended with defeat by Paris St-Germain, but the manner in which they unnerved arguably the most impressive side in this season’s competition demonstrated that they belonged in this elite company.

   It has been 43 years since they were last in this competition, then as holders. It will not be as long again if they continue the progress under expert European operator Emery, who almost engineered yet another glory night to add to his stellar managerial CV.

   It is probably just as long since the grand old stadium rocked like this in such an electric atmosphere, as Villa looked down and out when PSG struck twice early on to extend their 3-1 advantage from the first leg in Paris.

   At 5-1 down on aggregate, it had all the makings of a long and painful night for Spanish boss Emery and his players as they were punished by this brutally brilliant PSG.

   But they launched a stunning series of counter-punches that left PSG on the ropes, and Villa just one goal away from forcing extra time.

   Villa Park is a stadium built for the Champions League – although there was a mis-step before kick-off when the Europa League theme was played.

   It is something they will not want to hear next season.

6. ‘He was on fire’ – so was Emery wrong to replace Rashford?published at 07:12 British Summer Time

   Aston Villa 3-2 PSG (PSG won 5-4 on agg)

   Gary Rose
   BBC Sport

   Image source, Getty Images

   He may not have scored himself, but Marcus Rashford arguably provided the spark that almost led Aston Villa to one of the great Champions League comebacks against Paris St-Germain.

   The England forward had been fairly quiet in the first half as the French champions looked on course for a routine win, leading 2-0 after 27 minutes and 5-1 on aggregate.

   But Rashford starred in the second period, tormenting the PSG defence as Villa fought back to lead 3-2 on the night and come within one goal of levelling the tie.

   In the end they just couldn’t find a fourth goal, but the 27-year-old, on loan at Villa amid an uncertain Manchester United future, showed exactly what he is capable of against a side tipped to go all the way in this season’s Champions League.

   “He is feeling better and he played a fantastic match,” Villa boss Unai Emery told Amazon Prime.

   “We are very happy. If he is happy, we are happy.”

   Let us know your views using #bbcfootball, via WhatsApp on 03301231826 or text 81111 (UK only, standard message rates apply).

7. Heroic Villa comeback falls just short against PSGpublished at 07:04 British Summer Time

   Aston Villa 3-2 PSG (PSG won 5-4 on agg)

   Phil McNulty
   BBC Sport chief football writer at Villa Park

   Image source, Getty Images

   Aston Villa threatened to pull off a stunning comeback against Paris St-Germain before going out of the Champions League on a dramatic night at Villa Park.

   Villa were attempting to overturn a 3-1 deficit to reach the semi-final but their hopes looked in tatters when they were two goals down inside the first half-hour

   Achraf Hakimi cashed in on Villa keeper Emiliano Martinez’s mistake to put PSG ahead, then Nuno Mendes doubled the French side’s lead to leave Villa needing to score at least four goals.

   In a thunderous Villa Park atmosphere, Unai Emery’s team refused to yield and launched a magnificent response to put this hugely talented PSG side on the rack.

   Youri Tielemans pulled one back after 34 minutes with a deflected shot before a second half of pure theatre unfolded in front a frenzied Villa Park.

   Villa struck twice in two minutes to spark hopes of a remarkable revival, John McGinn scoring from 20 yards after 55 minutes before defender Ezri Konsa put them ahead on the night after fantastic work by Marcus Rashford.

   PSG managed to regain a measure of composure to hold on and will meet Arsenal or Real Madrid in the semi-final.

8. Good morningpublished at 07:00 British Summer Time

   Hello and welcome to Wednesday’s football news live page.

   Aston Villa’s fairytale run in this season’s Champions League came to an end on Tuesday night. While they fought back from two down to beat Paris St-Germain 3-2 at Villa Park, they exited the competition at the quarter-final stage with a 5-4 defeat on aggregate.

   We will bring you all of the reaction and analysis following that match, as well as looking ahead to Arsenal’s trip to Real Madrid tonight and Manchester United’s Europa League quarter-final second leg against Lyon on Thursday.

   First, let’s have a look through the top stories with a primary focus on Villa’s Champions League exit.