Unai Emery and his Aston Villa side delivered another remarkable win in the Champions League on Tuesday evening, dispatching RB Leipzig 3-2 in Germany.
Despite their somewhat indifferent form domestically, Villa are flying in Europe, destined for a spot in the Champions League knockout stages.
Emery made an interesting choice to deploy Matty Cash as a right-winger against Leipzig, who do have a lot of threat going forward.
Of course, it was Emery’s choice to bring Jhon Duran on at half-time which ultimately won the game, a young striker who really does have the world at his feet.
Ollie Watkins wasn’t poor by any means – he provided a clever assist for John McGinn early on.
But Duran added pace, power and determination up top, a display which received rave reviews in Germany.
Jhon Duran and Emi Martinez praised for ‘unbeatable’ Aston Villa displays
German outlet Spox shared their thoughts on another defeat for Leipzig shortly after full-time and found it hard not to praise two Villa players in particular.
Along with ‘whirlwind’ Duran, Emiliano Martinez was also hailed as ‘unbeatable’ even though he was involved in a mix-up that led to Leipzig’s first goal.
Emiliano Martinez of Aston Villa celebrates victory after the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 League Phase MD6 match between RB Leipzig and Aston Vil...
Photo by Maja Hitij/Getty Images
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Praising Emery’s half-time introduction of Duran, Spox wrote: “At half-time, Villa team manager Unai Emery brought on Duran for Watkins in attack.
“The substitute was on fire straight away because he saw that Gulacsi was standing too far in front of his goal, he shot from around 20 meters – and scored.
“After the new striker had his second goal disallowed for offside just seven minutes later, RB hit back again unexpectedly. After a long ball, Openda found Baumgartner, who shot in with a direct shot.
“Duran, the Colombian whirlwind, didn’t give up though, and after his pass Digne (73′) forced Gulacsi to make a brilliant save.
“Barkley was lucky with his deflected shot to make it 3-2. Martinez was ultimately unbeatable.”
Matty Cash shines in a new position against RB Leipzig
Aside from the two names mentioned, Villa fans were pleased with Cash playing in a new position, a successful experiment by Emery.
The Spaniard has always seemed hesitant to use Cash as a traditional full-back, perhaps not fully trusting his credentials as a defender.
But for a tough away trip in Europe, it’s something of a luxury to have both Cash’s attacking and defensive instincts ahead of someone like Ezri Konsa.
In truth, Emery might also have success with Ian Maatsen in a similar role on the opposite wing, an equally attack-minded talent.
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