Unai Emery, Luis Enrique and the worst night of Aston Villa manager's career

It was a night so famous in the annals of the , they even gave it a name. La Remontada - the comeback.

And it'll be a night coming back to both and 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 head down to France to face a Paris Saint-Germain side who are .

But back in March 2017, the French capital saw Emery's host Enrique's for the first leg of their round-of-16 tie. After romping to a 4-0 win thanks to goals from , and , 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 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 triumphs with Sevilla, proving his know-how when it comes to knockout ties. The Spaniard's tactics and his players had thwarted what 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?

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PSG got off to a nightmare start, going behind after only three minutes thanks to a 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 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 .

Enter: , 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 snatched the trophy from 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 to try and put a wedge between Barcelona and history. In the final seconds, Neymar delivered an inviting cross into the penalty area and - 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 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 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 but only the round of 16 at the , 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 round of 16 and lost the first leg at home, only to produce a stunning 4-1 comeback in Catalunya to dump his beloved Barca out. This term, they're unbeaten in , have already been crowned champions and knocked the favourites, , 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 at . He maintained his European pedigree by leading Arsenal to the Europa League final, but a defeat to 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 , where he won the Europa League in 2021 before getting to the Champions League semi-finals the following season. After sacking in October 2022, Villa convinced Emery to have another crack at the - 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.

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