Aston Villa surprise Bayern in a repeat of the 1982 European Cup final

Text size

ADDS quotes

Aston Villa repeated its famous victory in the 1982 European Cup final against Bayern Munich as Jhon Duran beat the German giants 1-0 on Wednesday.

The Colombian striker caught Manuel Neuer off the line 11 minutes from time to give Villa their second win in two games – their first in 41 years of Champions League football.

Bayern arrived at Villa Park undefeated and goal-scoring since Vincent Kompany took office.

But the visitors were suffocated by Unai Emery's game plan and were caught out when Duran took advantage of Pau Torres' long pass and shot over Neuer from long range.

Prince William was among over 40,000 Villa fans who inspired Emery's men to overcome the huge gap between the teams in the Champions League.

The future British king was among those who congratulated Emery at a post-match meeting.

“I told him the best moment we can have is days like this,” Emery said.

“I don’t know where (Villa can go) but we will try to enjoy the journey. Today we will remember how we played, who we played and the Champions League final 42 years ago. It was a special day.”

Just five years ago Villa were languishing in the second tier of English football, but since the Spaniard took charge less than two years ago they have enjoyed a meteoric rise.

After a comfortable 3-0 win over Young Boys in Switzerland two weeks ago, the visit of the six-time European champions was the kind of glamorous clash that Villa fans had enjoyed so much and it did not disappoint.

Harry Kane overcame an ankle injury that forced him off late in Bayern's opening 1-1 draw with Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen at the weekend.

Bayern had averaged over four goals per game in their first seven games under Kompany, including a 9-2 win over Dinamo Zagreb to open their Champions League campaign.

They dominated the ball early on, but Kane's header from an offside position, well parried by Emi Martinez, was the closest they came to breaking through Emery's well-organized defense.

“They are a strong team and this place is not an easy place,” Kompany said. “I don’t think the performance was perfect, but it wasn’t a bad performance.”

Villa actually had the ball in the net midway through the first half when Torres hit a free-kick past the back post.

However, Jacob Ramsey was caught offside in the build-up and Villa's jubilant celebration was cut short.

Michael Olise was another Bayern star returning to England and the former Crystal Palace winger only failed to open the scoring before half-time when Martinez made a stunning save.

Kompany surprisingly left Jamal Musiala on the bench, but the German international had to intervene at half-time.

On the hour mark, Musiala almost forced his way through the Villa defense but his shot was blocked by Torres.

Instead, it was Villa's own super substitute who won the game.

Five of Duran's six goals this season came as a substitute.

The 20-year-old showed his strength by fending off Dayot Upamecano and lifting the ball over the stranded Neuer.

Villa still needed a goalkeeper of their own who could make important interventions at the other end to secure a historic victory.

Musiala's pass eventually opened up the home side's defense, but Serge Gnabry couldn't beat Martinez.

The Argentine then made an even better save deep into stoppage time to keep Kane's header safe.