Football: What the papers said about . . . Aston Villa

'King of Europe.' Birmingham Post

'Ace joker King] Villa spot hero smiles all the way.' Express

'Phil King stepped up looking the coolest man in the frenzied stadium. There was a huge grin on his face as he buried the shot. And he was still laughing as he emerged from the Villa dressing room later.' Sun

'Phil yer boots] Int it great, Villa.' Mirror

'Cool Phil turfs Inter outta cup.' Star

'When Ruben Sosa fluffed Inter's fifth spot-kick, justice was served. All the more so because Sosa was the player who tumbled - dubiously in Villa's eyes - under Nigel Spink's challenge at the San Siro a fortnight ago. A case, perhaps, of those who live by the pen . . . ' Independent

'Inter were fortunate that they had the lottery of penalties to salvage something from a night that is sure to have repercussions internally. Heads, you can be assured, will roll.' Telegraph

'Perhaps it was fitting that in a tie littered with multi-million pound talent, a pounds 250,000 member of the chorus line should sing the final refrain and take Villa through to the riches of the second round.' Times

'Thrilla.' Today

'Bye bye, Inter. The defence of the UEFA Cup is over at the first hurdle. And this time we can no longer blame the farce of penalties . . . because before we reached extra time and the shoot-out, Aston Villa had shown themselves amply worthy of the victory. After a promising start, the petrol ran out too soon.' La Gazzetta Dello Sport