Marco Asensio played a starring role in the second leg of Aston Villa’s 1ast-16 tie at home to Club Brugge in the Champions League on Wednesday night.
Asensio scored a brace inside 11 minutes in the second half to help his side to a 3-0 lead on the night and a 6-1 advantage on aggregate.
The Spaniard continued his impressive run of form since joining the Villains on loan from PSG in January.
With the Parisians beating Liverpool on penalties at Anfield on Tuesday, Villa will be the Ligue 1 side’s next opponents in the Champions League quarter-finals.
So, can Asensio play against his former side having already appeared for them this season before his move?
Read on below for everything you need to know.
The Spaniard has gone on an impressive run of form since joining the Villains in January
His move came after he was deemed surplus to requirements by PSG boss Luis Enrique
Can Marco Asensio play for Aston Villa against PSG?
Asensio will be eligible to play against PSG, meaning he will be free to try and prove to Luis Enrique why he should have started under him.
Instead, he has found a new lease of life under Unai Emery with seven goals since his switch across the Channel in the January transfer window.
UEFA’s official ruling on loan-related moves forbid clubs from exercising ‘any influence whatsoever over the players that another club may (or may not) field in a match’.
A previous instance of the rule occurred just over a decade ago – when Thibaut Courtois played against Chelsea in the 2013-14 Champions League semi-finals while on loan at Atletico Madrid.
Another example involving Aston Villa has also already occurred this season, when Samuel Iling-Junior – who they loaned out to Bologna – appeared as a substitute in their 2-0 defeat to Villa in October.
Elsewhere in the Champions League, Arsenal booked their place in the quarter-finals after drawing 2-2 with PSV – having held a 7-1 lead from the first leg.
But the Gunners were made to wait to discover their last-eight opponents as the tie between Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid went to extra-time after finishing 1-1 on aggregate.
Vinicius Jr had a huge chance to send Los Blancos through – but curled a second-half penalty high over the bar.
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