Jhon Duran and Unai Emery stun Bayern and put Aston Villa on the euphoric path to Champions League norms

Unai Emery wants to make nights like this the norm for Aston Villa and if anyone can do it, it’s him. But that was anything but normal. Jhon Duran, you beauty.

When asked by the Aston Villa fans at kick-off, Bayern Munich provided a convincing answer in the first 15 minutes. Who the hell are we? Your team can’t get the ball.

All 20 outfield players were in Villa’s half, with Joshua Kimmich dictating play from midfield while the players in front of him swapped positions in a fluid Vincent Kompany system that emphasized the third man and counter-pressing.

The Kompany side are now a team that lives up to the quality within their ranks, as evidenced by the fact that they scored nine goals on matchday one of the Champions League and have scored 30 goals in the seven games so far this season. Make no mistake – despite this result – after a poor season, Bayern Munich is a force to be reckoned with again; a much better site than the one who knocked the struggling Arsenal FC out of the competition six months ago.

Michael Olise forced a stunning save from Emiliano Martinez with a shot seemingly destined for the top corner, Serge Gnabry fired a shot wide of goal after a particularly good move from front to back as he passed the ball to Harry Kane should have equalized and it felt like Bayern would eventually break through the Villa defense, stubborn as they were.

But Villa didn’t need much ball to show they belonged back in Europe’s showpiece competition, playing in a repeat of the final they won 42 years ago.

And while 1982 hero Peter Withe watched from the stands, it was Aston Villa’s current striker who troubled Bayern on Wednesday. Ollie Watkins won all five duels in the first half, most of them against Dayot Upamecano, who was often left alone one on one with a man you really don’t want to be alone with.

The centre-back could easily have been shown a red card for being the last man to bring down Watkins in the 15th minute – a challenge which the referee inexplicably turned down – and he certainly should have had no further role after that he had been cautioned for a very similar challenge seven minutes later.

“They only had to get the pass right once,” the commentary said. Unai Emery will argue that they did – twice – and that they should have reaped the reward they deserved by playing most of the game with an extra man. Turns out they didn’t need the advantage. Not when they have Super Jhon Duran.

Duran has scored six goals in less than 300 minutes of play this season, five of which secured his team victory; that was another beauty.

Pau Torres – who had a lovely goal ruled out for offside midway through the first half and was absolutely brilliant both in and out of the ball – played a precise 50-yard pass to split the Bayern defense and after a short one Looking over his shoulder to see that Manuel Neuer was doing his “I’m a frustrated midfielder” act, Duran lifted the ball over the goalkeeper in a moment that combined pure joy and a sense of inevitability, because that’s exactly what this extraordinary one does young footballers.

It got us thinking: Do Villa have the second and third best strikers in the Premier League? The debate will perhaps take place another time and there will undoubtedly be further questions about how Emery can get both of them into his team.

Not that we mere mortals should question what the Spaniard is doing. After earning a two-legged win over Bayern with Villarreal just over two years ago, he beat them again with another underdog who had his back to the wall for most of the game but provided the decisive moment.

Villarreal were eliminated in the semi-finals by Liverpool this season, and while we’re not exactly thrilled that Villa can achieve that feat in their first taste of top European football in over four decades under Emery, Da Big Jhon Duran is can score a guaranteed goal from the bench in every game he plays, Villa will want to get a good result against whatever team they face.

“My idea is to try to do something natural,” Unai Emery said in his pre-match press conference, referring to the opinion of all Villa fans that it was “very bad” that the club was not in the Champions League/European Cup since 1983, aiming to make a night of emotion the norm for everyone associated with Villa.

This was anything but normal. It was special; A milestone in the incredible rise of a football club that could soon see a 1-0 win against the six-time European champions as an everyday occurrence. However, not yet. For now, euphoria is not only allowed, but expected.