Aston Villa fans would have been dreaming of watching their team topple the might of Bayern Munich when filtering into Villa Park last night, imagining their side upsetting the odds and stifling the free-flowing Bavarian giants by picking up an unbelievable second win in the Champions League.
Those wild dreams would become a reality as Unai Emery’s men managed to get over the line come full-time and shock Vincent Kompany’s Bayern 1-0, courtesy of yet another strike off the bench from devastating impact substitute Jhon Duran.
It was a determined team effort in the end that ensured Villa would upset the Bundesliga titans, with the game showing off Emery’s men at their best defensively, as much as it also reinforced their dangerous nature to be clinical when needed.
Top performers from Villa's win over Bayern
Touching on the shut-out Villa managed to pull off, Emiliano Martinez would have walked off the pitch at the end overjoyed with his individual showing against the visitors from Germany, having kept a clean sheet even when being regularly tested by the likes of Harry Kane and Serge Gnabry.
The South American shot-stopper would tally up a staggering seven saves in total, with Birmingham Live journalist John Townley after the game rewarding his efforts with a faultless 10/10 match rating.
In attack, Villa also impressed, even if Ollie Watkins would exit the field of play without a goal next to his name, as Duran delivered the goods once more in the England international’s place.
Only needing one shot on target to leave his mark on proceedings, the Colombian’s name will now be etched into Villa folklore forever more, after catching an onrushing Manuel Neuer napping with a clever finish to win the tie.
That means the explosive 20-year-old is averaging a goal every 48 minutes for his side so far this season, with this strike against Bayern the pick of the bunch from his five goals to date.
The home side’s defence got called into question after a shaky display against Ipswich Town before this clash under the lights, with Martinez undoubtedly helped in his mission to keep a clean sheet by the likes of Pau Torres also shining at the back, who was as important as both the World Cup winner and Duran on the night to help the famous win be secured.
Torres' performance in numbers
Emery stuck by the same back four that wobbled away at Portman Road and was vindicated for not going overboard with changes, as the Spanish centre-back stood out amongst a strong defensive effort.
The standout Villa number 14 even had his moment in the spotlight in the first half, when he thought he had opened the scoring after tapping home an opportunity that fell kindly to him, only for VAR to cruelly intervene and judge Jacob Ramsey to be offside in the build-up.
Stat
Torres
Minutes played
90
Goals scored
0
Assists
1
Touches
55
Accurate passes
36/42 (86%)
Total duels won
4/5
Clearances
4
Blocked shots
3
Tackles
4
He did have a role to play in Duran’s unbelievable winner though, with his ball finding the Colombian in space to then beat Neuer, to make up for the offside decision going against his side.
Moreover, Torres – as can be seen glancing at the table above – was key in Villa keeping Bayern at bay, with four out of four ground duels won on the night, alongside completing 86% of his passes as an option at the back unafraid to make things happen as well as thwarting Kompany’s men.
Bayern would have entered into this contest high off the confidence of putting nine past Dinamo Zagreb in their last match in Europe’s elite competition, only for the German giants to be humbled by Torres and Co, who was handed out a top 9/10 rating after the game by Townley.
Labelled by Townley as being Torres’ ‘best performance of the season so far’, the Spaniard will hope he can put in more stellar displays when back in Premier League action.
For now, however, Emery’s men will be giddy off the buzz of this result, as the Villa Park masses now crave more top European nights to come.
Villa wanted "monster" star when Grealish left, now he's outshining Rogers
Villa nearly replaced Grealish with dynamic man back in 2021
ByConnor HoldenSep 26, 2024
