Connect with us

Sports

Aston Villa Stun Bayern In Repeat Of 1982 European Cup Final

Published

on

Aston Villa repeated their famous 1982 European Cup final win over Bayern Munich as Jhon Duran’s winner beat the German giants 1-0 on Wednesday.

The Colombian striker caught Manuel Neuer off his line 11 minutes from time to make it two wins from two games for Villa in their first experience of Champions League football for 41 years.

Bayern arrived at Villa Park unbeaten and in free-scoring form since Vincent Kompany took charge.

But the visitors were stifled by Unai Emery’s gameplan and caught out when Duran latched onto Pau Torres’ long pass and fired over Neuer from long range.

Advertisement

Prince William was among the over 40,000 Villa fans who inspired Emery’s men to shrug off the vast gulf in Champions League pedigree between the sides.

Just five years ago Villa were languishing in the second tier of English football, but they have enjoyed a meteoric rise since the Spaniard took charge under two years ago.

After a comfortable 3-0 win over Young Boys in Switzerland two weeks ago, the visit of the six-time European champions was the sort of glamour tie Villa fans had been relishing and it did not disappoint.

Harry Kane overcame an ankle injury that forced him off late on in Bayern’s 1-1 draw against Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen at the weekend.

Advertisement

Bayern had averaged over four goals a game in their opening seven matches under Kompany, including a 9-2 thrashing of Dinamo Zagreb to open their Champions League campaign.

They dominated the ball early on, but Kane’s header from an offside position that was well saved by Emi Martinez was the closest they came to breaking through Emery’s well-organised defence.

Villa did have the ball in the net midway through the first half when Torres prodded in at the back post from a free-kick.

However, Jacob Ramsey had strayed offside in the build up and Villa’s jubilant celebrations were cut short.

Advertisement

Michael Olise was another of Bayern’s stars making a return to England and the former Crystal Palace winger was only denied the opener before half-time by a stunning save from Martinez.

Kompany had surprisingly left Jamal Musiala on the bench but the German international was summoned to make an impact at half-time.

Musiala nearly weaved a way through the Villa defence on the hour mark but his shot was blocked by Torres.

Instead, it was Villa’s own super sub that came on to win the game.

Advertisement

Five of Duran’s six goals this season have come as a substitute.

The 20-year-old showed his strength to hold off Dayot Upamecano and lift the ball over the stranded Neuer.

Villa still needed their own goalkeeper to make important interventions at the other end to seal a historic victory.

Musiala’s pass finally unlocked the home side’s defence but Serge Gnabry could not beat Martinez.

Advertisement

The Argentine then produced an even better save deep into stoppage time to turn Upamecano’s header to safety.

AFP

Continue Reading
Advertisement
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Sports

Borussia Dortmund sack struggling coach Nuri Sahin

Published

on

By Francesca Hangeior

Borussia Dortmund have fired struggling head coach Nuri Sahin after Tuesday’s 2-1 Champions League loss at Bologna, saying on Wednesday they had “lost faith” in the young manager.

Finalists in the competition last season, Tuesday’s Champions League loss was the fourth in a row for Dortmund in all competitions.

Continue Reading

Sports

Mikel Obi arrives in Galatasaray to hold talks with Osimhen amid Nicolas Jackson’s goal drought

Published

on

Former Chelsea defensive midfielder Mikel Obi arrived in Istanbul on Monday, January 20, for showdown talks with Galatasaray striker Victor Osimhen.

Osimhen’s future remains uncertain, but the striker has disclosed that he would love to end his season-long loan deal with Galatasaray.

An exit clause exists in his deal with the Turkish club, but the striker recently rejected a move to English Premier League club Manchester United.

Turkish journalist Kagan Dursun has disclosed that the Red Devils recently offered £59 million to bring the Nigerian striker to Old Trafford.

Advertisement

According to him, Napoli officials travelled to Istanbul recently to secure Osimhen’s commitment to the club, but their efforts were unsuccessful.

Mikel wants Osimhen at Chelsea

Meanwhile, Mikel Obi has not hidden his love for Victor Osimhen to move to join Stamford Bridge outfit Chelsea.

The club legend has been a vocal critic of striker Nicolas Jackson, who has not been convincing in front of goal.

Advertisement

Last summer, Osimhen was on the verge of joining Chelsea, but negotiations collapsed in the final hours of the transfer window.

According to Football Italia, Mikel stated that he would try to convince the 26-year-old, adding that disclosing that Didier Drogba is also doing his best to ensure the deal is sorted.

He said: “I hope that Chelsea fans will finally see him come to the club. I’ll make sure I send him those text messages and calls, making sure Chelsea is his top priority.

“Didier is also speaking to him, sharing his ideas and what the club means to us. We all want to see Victor come to the club. If it happens, it happens. It’s a huge transfer fee, but if we can match it and get him to the club that would be fantastic.”

Advertisement

Mikel arrives in Galatasaray training

Mikel was spotted at Galatasaray’s Florya Metin Oktay training facility, where he met with his compatriot, Victor Osimhen.

The Chelsea legend, who played for the Turkish club Trabzonspor, met the former vice president of Giresunspot Muzaffer Aygun and the owner of Titanic Hotels.

Reports suggest that he would use the opportunity to speak with Osimhen over a possible transfer to Chelsea.

Advertisement

Source: www.legit.ng

Continue Reading

Sports

Victor Boniface ends relationship with Norwegian girlfriend, Rikke

Published

on

Nigerian international Victor Boniface has reportedly ended relationship with Norwegian girlfriend, Rikke Hermine Jensen.

The Bayer Leverkusen striker ended his four-year relationship with the Norwegian influencer as reports indicate that the pair has unfollowed each other on social media.

Their last public appearance was in May last year during Bayer Leverkusen’s historic Bundesliga title celebrations, where they were seen together.

A source told Tribuna that the relationship has not been working for some time now, and Jensen has stopped attending Bayer Leverkusen games this season.

Advertisement

Yes, they were apart for Christmas, and he seemed to have a lot of fun without her. She also stopped attending his games this season. Now, they are officially done,” the source confirmed.

Boniface came down to Nigeria for Christmas and his birthday celebration last month without his partner.

Boniface and Jensen reportedly met in Norway four years ago and started dating after that.

The Bayer Leverkusen star kept their relationship private, as he barely shared details of his love life with the public.

Advertisement

Source: www.mynigeria.com

Continue Reading

Trending

Copyright © 2024 Naija Blitz News