Aston Villa may never top 1982, but, in a sense, they have emulated the most famous, most celebrated win in their history. Forty-two years on, as they belatedly renewed acquaintances , the score stayed the same. Just as it was in Rotterdam in the European Cup final, it finished Aston Villa 1 Bayern Munich 0: wonderfully, weirdly, Villa seem Bayern’s bogey team.
It is now Birmingham 2 Bavaria 0. Inspired by their past, Villa made history again. The 1982 final scorer Peter Withe had come from his home in Australia to watch on as Jhon Duran joined him in a select club.
The super-sub became the second Villa player to score a winner against Bayern. The 1982 captain Dennis Mortimer saw Emi Martinez skipper the class of 2024 to a result which caps their rise: it is less than two years since Unai Emery walked into a club who had been flirting with relegation. It was six years to the day since they were a mid-table second tier club as then manager Steve Bruce had a cabbage thrown at him by a fan.
Villa have come from Championship to Champions League. If Vincent Kompany has made the same journey, his first defeat as Bayern manager was a milestone result, too. Bayern had not lost in 42 Champions League group stage matches, since 2017, since they were beaten by Emery’s Paris Saint-Germain.
This was a reminder his excellence in continental competition is not confined to the Europa League. His team were magnificent. Emery has lamented a lack of clean sheets in the Premier League but th.