When you’ve waited more than 40 years to return to Europe’s top table, the excitement can be palpable.
And that excitement in the Midlands is now very tangible after Aston Villa secured arguably their most famous result for a quarter of a century.
In a re-run of the 1982 European Cup Final, Unai Emery’s class of 2024 repeated their iconic victory by the same scoreline against the same opponents on a night which will live long in the club’s history.
All of a sudden, the anger at being charged a minimum of £85 a ticket to attend this Champions League clash has subsided (for now at least).
That the mighty Bayern Munich were slain at Villa Park, a result not predicted by the SBOTOP Champions League betting odds, will make Europe sit up and take notice.
Amongst Villa’s plethora of stars were two men who are growing in fan folklore.
Emiliano Martinez may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but no-one can deny the World Cup winner is a top class goalkeeper as he proved with a number of top class saves.
Likewise, forward Jhon Duran – the matchwinner as a second half substitute – is proving to be something of a scoring sensation when called upon.
There were 11 minutes remaining when Pau Torres played a ball into the channel and Duran, with plenty still to do, lifted the ball over the advanced Manuel Neuer with style from long range.
A great finish, a goalkeeping rush of blood or a perhaps a combination of both?
Quite frankly, the majority inside the stadium didn’t care as Duran took his tally to five goals from the bench already this season – the most by any player in Europe’s top five leagues.
Villa, pinned back for long spells against last season’s semi-finalists, had shown a defensive excellence to match their adventure and been duly rewarded.
Incidentally, the last time Bayern had lost a group stage game in the Champions League was September 2017, when they were beaten 3-0 to Paris St Germain. The opposition manager that evening? A certain Unai Emery.
Events at Villa Park were the stand-out for me on a night where there were quite a few Champions League highlights but which, yet again, highlighted the folly of the new-look tournament.
Wednesday saw a routine home win for Liverpool over spirited Italians Bologna, an impressive comeback by 10-man Juventus at RB Leipzig, Club Brugge edging out Sturm Graz, a late comeback by Monaco in Dinamo Zagreb and a convincing victory for last season’s Europa League winners Atalanta at Shakhtar Donetsk.
At least it wasn’t as bad as Tuesday night’s plethora of mismatches when Borussia Dortmund fans made their feelings known with a striking flag display which described UEFA as ‘mafia’ and read: “You don’t care about the sport — all you care about is the money.”
The likelihood is the club will be punished but it was hard to disagree with the fans’ sentiment.
Yes, there were impressive victories for Lille over holders Real Madrid, while Benfica hammered Atletico Madrid in Lisbon.
But there again, will they be rewarded for their efforts?
Because there are eight group games, the competition is geared towards the established heavyweights making the knockout stages and no-one realistically thinks either of the Madrid giants won’t reach the last 16, despite these losses.
If Villa gained the result of the night, there was also an equally compelling occasion in Spain in which both teams missed a penalty and there were two own goals.
Competition debutants last week, Girona, entertained Dutch champions Feyenoord and, although David Lopez scored the hosts’ first ever Champions League goal, the Catalan minnows were edged out by the odd goal in five.
In a pulsating contest, Lopez put Girona ahead midway through the first half, but Yangel Herrera’s own goal and a strike from the teenager Antoni Milambo swung the contest in the favour of the Dutch visitors.
Ayase Ueda then missed a penalty for Feyenoord and Bojan Miovski likewise for Girona, before the former Ajax midfielder Donny van de Beek drew the home side level at 2-2.
That joy was shortlived as Ladislav Krejci turned the ball into his own net to give Feyenoord the lead again and an advantage they would not relinquish. The critics of the new format will endure and rightly so, but at least there are some moments of sheer magic which make up for the monotony which will lead to more one-sided encounters and a predictable final table come late January.
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