Aston Villa has defeated Bayern Munich 1-0 in the Champions League thanks to a brilliant late Jhon Duran goal as the hosts celebrated in style their first home game in Europe’s elite club competition for 41 years.
On a night of shocks, one of the biggest events happened at Villa Park in Birmingham.
With the Germans dominating possession but squandering chances, Villa coach Unai Emery sent the 20-year-old Duran on in the 70th minute and the Colombia forward — who has made a habit of scoring goals from the bench — did it again.
Duran ran onto a high ball in the 79th minute, spotted goalkeeper Manuel Neuer off his line, and scooped the ball over him to send Villa Park into delirium.
It was Duran’s fifth goal as a substitute this season.
The win was a throwback to one of Villa’s most glorious days when they beat Bayern to lift the European Cup in 1982.
Prince William was born that year, and he was cheering in the Villa Park crowd when Duran pounced late on.
Duran’s goal came against the run of play as Bayern enjoyed two-thirds of possession and the best chances but found Villa’s World Cup-winning goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez at his best.
In the first half, the Argentine saved a Harry Kane bullet header brilliantly, though the striker was later ruled offside, then tipped over a shot from Michael Olise.
At the death, with Bayern pressing for an equaliser, Martinez dived athletically to stop a goal-bound Kane header.
“It’s unreal. It’s a night that we will remember for a long time. It’s a statement,” Martinez said, praising the atmosphere.
“It was hurting my ears. This is a club that’s moving forward. I love playing here. I love the fans.”
The result gave Villa two wins out of two in the new 36-team league phase of the Champions League, while Bayern have begun their campaign with a win and a defeat.
Before Duran’s match-winner, Villa thought they had taken the lead and made Bayern pay for missed chances in the first half when Pau Torres stabbed home during a melee in front of goal. But his effort was ruled out for an earlier offside by teammate Jacob Ramsey.
Serge Gnabry also blazed over when through on goal with Kane waiting in space for a pass and easy chance.
In other games, Kylian Mbappé came off the bench but couldn’t prevent defending champion Real Madrid from losing 1-0 at unheralded Lille.
With Mbappé a substitute after a minor hamstring injury, the opening goal came from Canada striker Jonathan David’s penalty deep into first-half stoppage time. A video review ruled that midfielder Eduardo Camavinga handled the ball.
David scored a hat trick last weekend and shot confidently past goalkeeper Andriy Lunin, who was replacing the injured Thibaut Courtois. Mbappé came on in the 57th.
It was Madrid’s first loss in the competition since a 4-0 hammering by Manchester City in the 2023 semifinal return leg.
Liverpool beat Bologna 2-0 at Anfield, while Juventus had goalkeeper Michele Di Gregorio sent off in the 59th for a handball yet still won 3-2 at Leipzig.
Italian side Atalanta coasted to a 3-0 win over Ukraine’s Shakhtar Donetsk, Dutch club Feyenoord secured a gritty 3-2 win at tournament newcomer Girona.
Kerem Akturkoglu, veteran Ángel Di Maria, Alexander Bah and Orkun Kokcu scored for Benfica in a 4-0 rout of Atletico Madrid; and Monaco netted a last-minute equaliser in a 2-2 draw at Dinamo Zagreb thanks to Denis Zakaria’s penalty.
Also, Sturm Graz lost 1-0 at home to Club Brugge, thanks to a curling strike from Christos Tzolis.
Reuters/AP