On Wednesday, November 2, Jhon Duran scored a stunning late goal for Aston Villa, to defeat Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League 2024-25 clash at the Villa Park. The Colombian forward, who is just 20 years of age, lobbed Bayern Munich’s sweeper-keeper Manuel Neuer in the 79th minute of the contest after a delightful pass from defender Pau Torres, to help Aston Villa register a famous win over the German club in the repeat of the 1982 European Cup final.
After being brought on as a substitute for striker Ollie Watkins in the second half, Jhon Duran delivered for Aston Villa once again off the bench in the 2024-25 season. Apart from the Colombian forward, his teammate Emiliano Martinez made a stunning save in the second half stoppage time, preventing a Harry Kane header from finding the back of the net for Bayern Munich in front of over 40,000 fans, which included Prince William.
I told him the best moment we can pass is days like today: Unai Emery to Prince William
Following the epic win for Aston Villa, Prince William, who is looked upon as the future King of Britain, congratulated Unai Emery in a meeting, as per the NDTV Sports. The Aston Villa manager was quoted as saying, “I told him the best moment we can pass is days like today,” before switching attention to his team’s performance and remarked, “I don’t know where (Villa can go) but we are going to try to enjoy the way. Today we (will) remember how we played, who we played and the Champions League final from 42 years ago. It was a special day.”
Watch the clip of Jhon Duran’s special goal here:
Unai Emery also revealed the talk between himself and his players about how Bayern Munich goal-keeper Manuel Neuer takes the high line off his goal mouth, which makes him prone to getting lobbed every now and then. He said, “In the analysis we did of them (Bayern Munich), we were aware, we were speaking a lot about how the position of Neuer is usually always high.I knew how he (Jhon Duran) would shoot because he had in his mind this possibility with Neuer.”
Emiliano Martinez spoke to the reporters about how Jhon Duran has been a revelation off the bench for Aston Villa this season, scoring five goals in the first couple of months. He said, “He (Jhon Duran) came back with a different mentality this season. He’s willing to work hard, he’s pushing Ollie all the way, they can play together, he’s a super sub, the first time he touched the ball, he lobbed Neuer, one of the best goalies in history.”