Prince William left football fans and pundits alike astounded with his impressive assessment of Aston Villa’s Champions League clash against Paris Saint-Germain. The next in line to the throne was present in Paris as Unai Emery’s side fell to defeat at the Parc des Princes.
William watched on with his son, George, as Villa took the lead through Morgan Rogers before three stunning goals from the hosts ensured the Premier League side were left with a mammoth task for the second leg of the quarter-final. It was certainly not the scoreline the Prince of Wales hoped for after predicting a 2-1 victory for underdogs.
While Villa were not able to impress themselves on the tie too much, 42-year-old William left his own mark before a ball had been kicked in the French capital. Sporting a grizzled beard and having already impressed TNT’s pundits with his smart attire, William revealed just how astute his knowledge of the beautiful game really is.
“We all saw the Liverpool game and PSG’s intensity,” he told ex-footballers Rio Ferdinand and Ally McCoist. “In the first leg they were unbelievable, they gave a lot of pressure, they pressed very high.
“For Unai tonight and the team, it’s about managing that press. Unai likes it when teams come onto them and play quite high press but there’s a limit. Can we get around the press? Can we beat it?
“I’m thinking long ball a bit, I’m also thinking how are they going to get around the high press. It’s going to be a challenging night and I’m looking forward to the tactics Unai is going to have to employ.”
Former Manchester United star was impressed with what he heard, and left worried for his job. The ex-central defender said : “Do not go for a punditry job, please, because I could be out of the game. The way he just dissected that there, I’m going to nick that for later on.”
Fans on social media were equally impressed. One X user said: “William speaks extremely well here. I knew he supported Villa, I didn’t realise quite how much he actually loved the game until watching that. Top man.”
“Prince William is a really good pundit, he is articulate, intelligent and really knowledgeable about football,” said another. A further user added: “Jeezo never thought I’d hear Prince William talk so thoughtfully about football with knowledge of the game and tactics. Very cool!”
William could be seen hugging Villa’s stars ahead of the game, embracing the likes of Marco Asensio and England international Marcus Rashford as they came out of the dressing room. He also revealed he was wearing his ‘lucky clothes’ to watch his beloved Villa, although they failed to have the desired effect this time amount.
Will has been a regular attendee of Villa’s European journey this season, also taking in the famous win over Bayern Munich in Birmingham and the game with Monaco. The hardcore fan will now hope his side can turn it around, with the team’s last European success coming a month before he was born in 1982.
The prince has supported Villa since his school days, not wanting to follow the crowd around him who supported Manchester United and Chelsea. “A long time ago at school I got into football big time,” he told the BBC in 2015.
“I was looking around for clubs. All my friends at school were either Man United fans or Chelsea fans and I didn’t want to follow the run of the mill teams. I wanted to have a team that was more mid-table that could give me more emotional rollercoaster moments.”
William will not force his children into the same decision, but having brought his family to Villa Park and beyond it would be no surprise if they did. “I’m generally very open to whoever they support, but obviously I’m a bit biased,” he said on TNT.
“But also they come to games with Villa. They’re going to probably support Villa, but I’ve left the other two at home, probably watching tonight, so we’ll wait and see who they support.”
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