Aston Villa wrote another page of their European history on Wednesday with a 1-0 win over Bayern Munchen to make it two wins from a possible two in the UEFA Champions League for the Villans. Substitute Jhon Duran came on with 20 minutes to go having already scored four times off the bench already this season to secure the three points at Villa Park with an instinctive finish past Manuel Neuer.
Unai Emery is no stranger to famous continental nights over the years but this one surely ranks right up there with some of the best UEFA competition achievements for the Spaniard. In a fitting touch of symmetry too, the final score mirrors the last time these two met back in 1982 when Villa won the European Cup in Rotterdam thanks to Peter Withe’s legendary goal at De Kuip.
This might not be worth a trophy but six points from a possible six two games into the new League Phase of the UCL is mightily impressive as Emery’s restoration job in Birmingham grows further. Duran could yet have a bigger role as he emerges as a major source of goals for Villa having scored as a substitute against West Ham United, Leicester City, Everton and Wolverhampton Wanderers.
With Bayern added to that list, plus a League Cup goal over 90 as well vs Wycombe Wanderers, there is suddenly genuine competition and depth emerging for Ollie Watkins. In fact, the England international currently trails the Colombian hitman for overall goals this term despite scoring away at Ipswich Town over the weekend where the two got some rare minutes together.
Although it was only back in May, it is easy to forget that two late Duran goals secured a 3-3 draw with Liverpool which effectively rubber-stamped Villa’s Champions League berth. The South American could have moved on over the summer with West Ham particularly keen on the 20-year-old but Emery is managing to channel his desperation for minutes into this wild tear of form.
Emery’s waking dream with Villa is arguably one of the only things that continues to eclipse Duran’s scintillating form with another stunning European result achieved here. Bayern have fallen foul of the Spanish magician a few times in the past with Villarreal famously edging the Bavarians out most recently in the UCL quarterfinals back in 2022 thanks to Samuel Chukwueze’s late effort.
However, most impressive is the fact that the German giants had gone 41 games unbeaten across the Group Stage and League Phase of the Champions League until their Villa visit. The start of that astonishing run of consistency came back in 2017 when a Paris Saint-Germain side coached by Emery beat Bayern 3-0 which was also the final straw for Carlo Ancelotti’s time at Allianz Arena.
It might not quite have the wow factor of Les Parisiens’ 4-0 thrashing of Barcelona earlier that year but this is almost more impressive given where Villa and Emery have come from together. How much further they can go appears to be an open question although there were signs during the game that one or two areas remain in need of work before the Birmingham outfit can truly compete.
That said, when you can bring a maverick force like Duran off the bench to seemingly conjure up goals at will while having Emi Martinez at the other end to pull off game-winning saves on the biggest of occasions, anything is possible. Perhaps this is what the new-look UCL is about to deliver with Villa and even minnows Stade Brestois 29 making strong starts and getting unexpected wins.
Villa Park had waited a long, long time — 40 plus years — for another night like this one to deliver a performance and result like the Bayern one. Although it could arguably have been greater with Pau Torres’ disallowed goal, it will enter into the Premier League club’s folklore and reinforce the idea within the club but also the EPL that Emery’s side are close to being a major threat and not just a nuisance to the big boys.
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