Aston Villa made a statement with their unreal victory over European heavyweights Bayern Munich, according to Emiliano Martinez.
Villa won 1-0 on Wednesday to make it two victories from two games in the Champions League, as they claimed their second triumph over Bayern from as many meetings, with their previous success against them having come by the same scoreline in the 1982 European Cup final.
The German giants dominated possession and accrued 1.42 expected goals (xG) to Villa s 0.4, but the only stat that mattered at Villa Park was the scoreline.
Substitute Jhon Duran was the hero as he scooped a brilliant finish over Manuel Neuer from outside the box in the 79th minute, with Martinez subsequently pulling off a string of fine stops to deny Bayern an equaliser.
It s unreal. It s a night that we will remember for a long time. It s a statement, said Villa s World Cup-winning goalkeeper.
[The noise] was hurting my ears. This is a club that s moving forward. I love playing here. I love the fans.
This is Aston Villa Football Club.
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial)
Duran, who reportedly came close to leaving Villa in the summer, has started the season brilliantly, and now has a Champions League goal to go with his four in the Premier League.
He s an excellent substitute, Martinez said of the Colombian, whose five goals have all come from the bench.
The first time he touched the ball, he chipped Neuer – one of the most beautiful goals in history.
Unai Emery, meanwhile, said Duran s goal was a pre-planned tactic.
In the analysis we did, we were speaking a lot about the usual position of Neuer, which is high, Emery said of Villa s pre-match conversations.
He [Duran] had in his mind this possibility about Neuer.
He is young, he has huge potential. As a player, I have to let him play, put him on the field, because his talent is there, his capacity to help us.
We are working with him. Most important is his attitude. He s available to play 90, 60, 30 minutes. He s been focusing each minute he s playing.
It s fantastic for him and the team.
Emery also had warm words for Martinez, adding: Martinez did an amazing job, amazing saves.
