It was a night so famous in the annals of the Champions League, they even gave it a name. La Remontada – the comeback.
And it’ll be a night coming back to both Unai Emery and Luis Enrique as they shake hands in the Parc des Princes dugout on Wednesday night, eight years on from meeting in the same stadium where the story all began. Emery’s Aston Villa head down to France to face a Paris Saint-Germain side who are among the fancied teams to win this season’s tournament.
But back in March 2017, the French capital saw Emery’s PSG host Enrique’s Barcelona for the first leg of their round-of-16 tie. After romping to a 4-0 win thanks to goals from Angel Di Maria, Julian Draxler and Edinson Cavani, PSG looked certain to make it into the last eight.
It was Emery’s finest night in charge of the Parisians, having been prised away from Sevilla at the start of the 2016-17 season. His record in Europe was what made him so attractive to PSG, who were – and still are – chasing an elusive first Champions League crown.
Emery was coming off the back of three successive Europa League triumphs with Sevilla, proving his know-how when it comes to knockout ties. The Spaniard’s tactics and his players had thwarted what Lionel Messi and Co. had to offer in round one. All they needed to do was avoid losing by four or more depending on away goals at the Camp Nou. Simple enough, right?
PSG got off to a nightmare start, going behind after only three minutes thanks to a Luis Suarez header before finding themselves 3-0 down just after half-time following a calamitous Layvin Kurzawa own goal and Messi penalty. Then, hope.
Like the air being popped out of a balloon, Cavani scored. That goal, which Emery celebrated wildly, made it 5-3 on aggregate and gave PSG that all-important away goal as well as a psychological boost.
The game now couldn’t go to extra-time and Barca needed to score another three goals without conceding or they’d fail to reach the quarter-finals for the first time in a decade. The clock ticked on as the Camp Nou held its breath time after time, no more than when Di Maria went clean through late on and could’ve given Cavani a tap-in, only to take the shot himself and miss.
Emery had subbed on right-back Serge Aurier in place of forward Draxler in an effort to stave off Barcelona’s waves of attack and have some energy on the counter. The plan was working and the mountain which Enrique’s side needed to climb got bigger and bigger by the minute.
Who’ll reach the semi-finals – PSG or Aston Villa? Give us your prediction in the comments section.
Enter: Neymar, the man who PSG would sign for a world-record fee a few months later. The Brazilian had won the foul for Messi’s penalty in the first half and got himself on the scoresheet with a superb free-kick in the 88th minute.
Suddenly, the summit was in sight. Barca needed to score two goals in stoppage time to win. It’d happened before at that same end at the Camp Nou, as Manchester United snatched the trophy from Bayern Munich in the 1999 final.
After the board showed five minutes of added time, Suarez went tumbling down in the penalty area and German referee Deniz Aytekin once again pointed to the spot amid PSG’s fierce protests. This time, a supremely confident Neymar stepped up and scored.
PSG were panicked and Emery threw on holding midfielder Grzegorz Krychowiak to try and put a wedge between Barcelona and history. In the final seconds, Neymar delivered an inviting cross into the penalty area and Sergi Roberto – a product of La Masia – met it with an outstretched leg to send the ball past the sprawling Kevin Trapp and the Camp Nou into ecstasy.
It was the first time since the introduction of second legs in 1955 that a team had come from 4-0 down and gone through to the next round. Barca were the 214th side to try and the first one to succeed.
That single moment summed up the joy and despair of football like nothing else. But some things in life are bigger.
Enrique, whose side would go on to lose 3-0 to Juventus in the quarter-final first leg and fail to produce any sort of comeback in round two, had already announced that he’d be stepping down at the end of that season. In July 2018, the former Barca midfielder and treble-winning boss took charge of the Spanish national team and was preparing for the European Championship in 2020 when tragedy struck.
After a five-month battle with osteosarcoma, a rare type of bone cancer, Enrique’s daughter, Xana, died aged nine. Enrique had resigned for personal reasons but returned in late 2019 two months after announcing her death.
He led Spain to the semi-finals of Euro 2020 but only the round of 16 at the 2022 World Cup, prompting to leave for good. Enrique wasn’t out of work for long, though, as he took the PSG job.
There was a full circle moment last year, as Enrique’s side were drawn against Barcelona in the quarter-finals. They lost 3-2 in the first leg at home, only to produce a stunning 4-1 comeback in Catalunya to dump his beloved Barca out. This term, PSG unbeaten in Ligue 1, have already been crowned champions and knocked the favourites, Liverpool, out of the Champions League.
With a refreshing team-first philosophy, Enrique could become the symbol of a new kind of PSG if he finally ends their wait to win Europe’s biggest prize. Despite the club’s Qatari riches, their managerial position has been a poison chalice – just ask Emery.
Despite regaining the Ligue 1 title in his second season, the current Villa manager was let go by PSG and soon chosen to replace Arsene Wenger at Arsenal. He maintained his European pedigree by leading Arsenal to the Europa League final, but a defeat to Chelsea spelled the beginning of the end of a disappointing tenure which lasted just 18 months.
Emery had to rebuild his reputation back in Spain with Villarreal, where he won the Europa League in 2021 before getting to the Champions League semi-finals the following season. After sacking Steven Gerrard in October 2022, Villa convinced Emery to have another crack at the Premier League – and boy has he had a crack.
After bringing Champions League football back to Villa Park in his first full season, Emery’s team secured a top-eight finish in this season’s new league phase. A stunning victory at home to Bayern is so far the highlight of their European campaign but he heads back to Paris looking to get one over on Enrique.
PSG are a different beast now, though, less bloated with egos and more energised with youth. They’re the firm favourites to advance but if we’ve learned anything from La Remontada, don’t write anyone off.
Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
Sky has slashed the price of its Essential TV and Sky Sports bundle in an unbeatable new deal that saves £192 and includes 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more.
At Reach and across our entities we and our partners use information collected through cookies and other identifiers from your device to improve experience on our site, analyse how it is used and to show personalised advertising. You can opt out of the sale or sharing of your data, at any time clicking the “Do Not Sell or Share my Data” button at the bottom of the webpage. Please note that your preferences are browser specific. Use of our website and any of our services represents your acceptance of the use of cookies and consent to the practices described in our Privacy Notice and Cookie Notice.