Aston Villa reeacted the most famous night in their history with another 1-0 victory over Bayern Munich in the Champions League at home last night. It was the same scoreline from their historic European Cup final victory over the German side in 1982. Peter Withe was the hero of the night from that victory 42 years ago. Last night, it was Jhon Duran who sent Villa Park into ecstasy with a goal in the 79th minute after coming off the bench.
Leading the celebrations from the stands was Prince Williams, as fans got to relive memories from that night in 1982. It is now two wins in as many games in the Champions League for Unai Emery’s men who return to the biggest stage in Europe after decades of absence.
England captain Harry Kane led the lines for Bayern Munich and almost clinched a draw for the Bavarians at the death. However, his effort was not enough to prevent Bayern’s first defeat in 43 non-knockout Champions League games. Their last non-knockout defeat in Europe’s biggest club competition had been against PSG in 2017, with Emery as the manager for the Parisians.
Aston Villa’s victory last night is a statement highlighting how well the Spanish manager has transformed the team from being relegation contenders to competing at par with the biggest European sides. A Pau Torres goal in the 23rd minute got Villa fans thinking they were ahead before the referee ruled Jacob Ramsey offside, thereby cancelling the goal.
Bayern came close to taking the lead several times with Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez blocking Michael Olise’s efforts on target. Second-half substitute James Musiala was also denied in front of goal by the Argentine. However, Villa looked threatening with their incredible pace anytime they were in the break. It was on one of such breaks that Torres sent a long ball that found Duran who caught Manuel Neuer out of position and sent Villa ahead. The Lions went fully defensive afterwards and a couple of heroic saves from Martinez denying Serge Gnabry and Kane secured their victory.
