Aston Villa rolled back the years during the past week following that sensational comeback against Everton and then their Champions League win.
Even though Unai Emery watched his side come from two goals down and secure three points in the Premier League, that wasn’t even the headline after the match.
Jhon Duran’s sensational long-range winner took everyone’s breath away and it’s a goal that will go down in Aston Villa folklore.
But Manchester United fan and YouTube star Mark Goldbridge took it one step further when assessing the Midlands side.
Pep Guardiola has had a great effect on English football ever since he stepped foot on the Premer League stage in 2016.
More and more teams, from the third tier of English football to someone fighting for Europe in England’s top flight, want to play out from the back and almost score the perfect goal.
Many think that long-range screamer, as Duran showcased at the weekend, has gone out of the window because of the tippy-tappy nature of the modern game.
But Goldbridge feels, that win from Villa, and the goal from Duran, proves that ‘players are listening’ and they want to shoot from distance a lot more.
He also gave Morgan Rogers his flowers and shared how he is ‘taking people on’ and ‘getting people off their seats’ with his solo magic.
As a result, Goldbridge thinks ‘the epicentre of saving football is Aston Villa’, as he lauded Emery for giving them the freedom, as he told Goldbridge Saves Football.
Jhon Duran’s long-range goal against Everton
“The epicentre of saving football is Aston Villa,” said Goldbridge. “But you have Morgan Rogers taking people on. Getting people off their seats. You have got Duran scoring an absolute thunderbolt of a goal. That would be right into the 2006 Goal of the Month award.
“I think the players are listening. The players are listening to the fans and going ‘hey, I actually do want to shoot from distance. The fans want me to shoot from distance. Let’s have a pop’.
“When Duran scores that. I am like ‘Oh my…’. What an absolute screamer, then you look on social media and everyone’s doing the same. Why isn’t it happening every week? It’s a tactical thing. Look at what Pep’s done to Grealish. He’s become, not the Grealish of Villa, so I will applaud it. I hope more will do it. Villa have got three points because Emery allowed Duran to do that.”
Jhon Duran to start against Wolves?
Aston Villa’s next dance will be a home Premier League tie against Midlands neighbours, Wolves, who are yet to win a league game this term.
You feel that this could be Duran’s chance to start because he is knocking and knocking that door down, but Watkins is still the main guy and he netted a brace in his last league game.
But could Watkins be an injury worry? Villa outclassed Young Boys in the Champions League on Tuesday, with their star forward playing 60 minutes and then sitting on the bench with an ice pack on his ankle.
You sense Watkins is carrying something because he was an injury doubt before the new Premier League season kicked off and he did pull out of England duty this month.
