Aston Villa midfielder Youri Tielemans has expressed confidence ahead of the team’s UEFA Champions League quarter-final against Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) on Wednesday night at Parc des Princes.
Tielemans, whose father is of Flemish descent and mother is of Congolese descent, acknowledged the formidable challenge posed by PSG, the current Ligue 1 leaders.
Speaking to VillaTV, he emphasized the importance of focus and determination.
“It’s a big occasion but we’re there for the game.
“We just want to play our game, we want to obviously win the game because that’s what we’re there for. And we’re going to do everything to do that.
“Confidence is there but we know we’ve got to be on our toes every time we’re on the pitch and we’ve got to focus.
“Every game is different, especially at this stage of the competition. PSG is a very big opponent, they’re in good form as well.
“We’re going to be facing a tough team.”
Reflecting on the team’s previous European experiences, Tielemans highlighted the significance of learning from past campaigns. Aston Villa reached the semi-finals of the Europa Conference League in the 2023/24 season.
He noted that while this upcoming match is of greater magnitude, the core principles remain the same.
“Massively, last season we came into this stage in the Conference League and obviously this game is a lot bigger than what it was last year, but it’s just the same thing apart from the opponent,” he said.
“The stage of the competition is really good and we just want to make a name for ourselves and, like I said, try to win the game there, but it’s going to be very hard.”
