Aston Villa’s first home game in Europe’s top competition since 1983 ended with a win on Wednesday evening, beating Bayern Munich 1-0 in the Champions League.
In a repeat of the 1982 European Cup final, Jhon Duran scored an exquisite winner in the 79th minute to continue his remarkable record of goals from the bench this season.
After beating Young Boys 3-0 in their first European game of the season, Villa’s defense reigned supreme against Bayern as they made it back-to-back wins to make the perfect start to their La Liga return of Champions.
How the game developed
Hosting his first Champions League match at Villa Park since the rebranding of the European Cup, Aston Villa they were roared on by a deafening home crowd as the first whistle blew. But the visitors were not to be surprised as they dominated the early proceedings without regularly testing Emiliano MartÃnez.
Villa were happy to hand over the territory aa Bayern team hungry for possession, but was able to punish on the counterattack. Ollie Watkins tripped Dayot Upamecano more than once after setbacks, with the French defender perhaps lucky to avoid a red card after bringing down the England striker twice in quick succession.
The home side thought they had taken the lead after Upamecano’s second foul on Watkins, with centre-back Pau Torres slotting home the ensuing free-kick. Jubilant celebrations were cut short, however, with VAR penalizing Jacob Ramsey for offside in the build-up.
Buoyed by an almighty scare, Bayern saved their brightest moment for late in the half as summer recruit Michael Olise got the best of Martinez. The former Crystal Palace winger struck with his left foot from 25 yards and forced the Villa keeper into a fine save as the ball headed into the top corner.
With neither team managing to put their noses in front before the half-time whistle, the patterns of the first period did not change after the restart. Bayern continued to have possession and created some early half-chances, with Olise seeing two efforts blocked before Serge Gnabry’s shot was comfortably palmed away by Martinez.
The game looked to be winding down as the defenses prevailed, but it was the super-submersible Duran who again proved Villa’s saviour. Torres’ exquisite pass to the Colombian was finished perfectly, with Duran making an early finish and lifting the ball over Manuel Neuer from 25 yards. A stunning finish from the in-form striker.
Villa held firm defensively but had Martinez to thank in the closing stages as he made two superb saves to deny Gnabry and then Harry Kane, with the Argentine’s impressive saves going achieve a memorable Champions League victory for the Villains.
GK: Emiliano Martinez – 9/10 – He produced a stellar save to deny Olise late in the first half and two fantastic saves to prevent Gnabry and Kane rescuing a late point. Another great display from the World Cup winner.
RB: Ezri Konsa – 8/10 – Combative and ferocious in the clash against Kingsley Coman and was also defiant after the French winger was substituted at half-time. An excellent display at right back.
CB: Diego Carlos – 8/10 – After a few shaky recent displays, Carlos stepped up impressively against Harry Kane and co. He did not make a mistake in a performance that will give him confidence in the world of good.
CB: Pau Torres – 9/10 – He thought he had given Villa the lead with a header inside the penalty area only for the referees to deny it. Defensively solid against tricky forwards and provided a sumptuous ball for Duran’s finish.
LB: Lucas Digne – 8/10 – Forced to fight Gnabry, Olise and then Leroy Sane, coping well with each of them. Deservedly won the clean sheet.
RM: Jaden Philogene – 7/10 – He switched to left flank after the introduction of Leon Bailey during the first half and was immediately more involved. He did a few touchline tries as he got more involved.
CM: Amadou Onana – 6/10 – Made some good tackles in the first half but struggled with a nagging injury after half an hour. It only lasted 15 minutes after the break.
CM: Youri Tielemans – 7/10 – He provided some calm in Villa’s midfield, dictating the pace for the home side when the ball was turned over. He did the simple things well and rarely gave possession away.
LM: Jacob Ramsey – 6/10 – Visibly dejected as he came off the field early on such an important night through injury, with Bailey replacing him.
ST: Morgan Rogers – 6/10 – Unusually sloppy in the opening minutes but grew into the game with some impressive runs and neat touches to start counter-attacks.
ST: Ollie Watkins – 7/10 – After a slow start to the season, Watkins turned in his best performance against Bayern after four goals in his previous four games. Some excellent runs from the back caused serious problems for Upamecano and Kim Min-jae.
Substitutes
SUB: Leon Bailey (27′ for Ramsey) – 5/10 – Withdrawn before the hour mark despite only coming on in the 27th minute. It didn’t appear to be an injury as Bailey has been unable to influence the game in his short time on the pitch.
SUB: Ian Maatsen (59′ for Bailey) – 6/10
SUB: Ross Barkley (59′ for Onana) – 5/10
SUB: Jhon Duran (70′ for Watkins) – 9/10 – The young forward has proven to be a revelation off the bench for Villa this season and has once again found the back of the net with inventive and clinical effort.
Subs not used: Joe Gauci (GK), Oliwier Zych (GK), Kosta Nedeljkovic, Lamare Bogarde, Matty Cash, Sil Swinkels, Emiliano Buendia, Kadan Young.
manager
Unai Emery – 9/10 – Lively all over the touchline and will be impressed by his side’s stoic defensive display. He got the win with his favorite substitute doing the business off the bench once again.
GK: Manuel Neuer – 4/10 – He usually advanced into his own half when a sweep was required, but was caught too high when Duran threw him.
RB: Konrad Laimer – 6/10 – He found life more difficult after the restart against a spirited Philogene, but made some key interventions in his own half, including one that denied Villa a clear scoring chance.
CB: Dayot Upamecano – 4/10 – He struggled with Watkins’ pace and directness as the Villa striker often darted behind Bayern’s high line. He could have been kicked out another day.
CB: Kim Min-jae – 6/10 – More convincing than his centre-back partner without looking entirely comfortable against the other speedy forwards of Watkins and Villa.
LB: Alphonso Davies – 6/10 – He made some nimble bursts up the pitch as expected and put in a resolute defensive display.
DM: Joshua Kimmich – 7/10 – He orchestrated proceedings from midfield, dropping deep to win possession and finding teammates with his excellent passing range. Sad to be on the side of the losers.
DM: Aleksandar Pavlovic – 6/10 – Another mature outing from the young midfielder, efficient in and out of possession.
RW: Serge Gnabry – 5/10 – He switched to the left after an underwhelming first-half performance and struggled to find more joy against a stiff Villa defence.
AM: Michael Olise – 7/10 – At the heart of Bayern’s greatest moments with a look at their guile and wit. However, his influence waned after halftime.
LW: Kingsley Coman – 5/10 – He struggled to get past Konsa with his forward runs and was withdrawn at half-time by his coach.
ST: Harry Kane – 6/10 – A quiet afternoon in England for the Bayern marksman, who was clamoring for more service from his teammates.
Substitutes
SUB: Jamal Musiala (46′ for Coman) – 6/10 – A surprise omission from the start and it had a positive impact as Bayern tried to break Villa down.
SUB: Leroy Sane (66′ for Olise) – 6/10
SUB: Joao Palhinha (76′ for Pavlovic) – 6/10
SUB: Mathys Tel (86′ for Laimer) – N/A
SUB: Leon Goretzka (86′ for Kim) – N/A
Subs not used: Daniel Peretz (GK), Sven Ulreich (GK), Eric Dier, Raphael Guerreiro, Thomas Muller.
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Vincent Kompany – 6/10 – He took a few risks with an extremely high line, relying heavily on Bayern’s press to work effectively. He did for the most part, but Villa’s goal showed the disadvantage of such a set-up.
