BBC Sport pundit Garth Crooks was left blown away by one Aston Villa player’s actions in Monday night’s 3-3 draw against Liverpool.
Aston Villa left it late to earn a point against Liverpool on Monday night, seeing their Champions League fate taken away from Unai Emery’s control and into Spurs’ hands.
The Lilywhites require two wins from their final two games to leapfrog Villa and claim a spot in the top four, with the draw against the Reds not enough for the Villans to confirm their spot among Europe’s elite next term.
Still, the way that the result came about left a feeling of excitement at Villa Park for the final time this season, as not many anticipated a comeback as Villa were 3-1 down in the 85th minute.
The man of the moment was undoubtedly Jhon Duran, who in 11 minutes on the pitch turned the fixture around, scoring a brace to level the scoring and apply pressure to Spurs in the top-four race.
As a result of his near-perfect cameo, with only a win missing from the result, the 20-year-old received high praise for his impact, with BBC pundit Garth Crooks naming the forward in his Premier League Team of the Week.
Garth Crooks was blown away by Jhon Duran impact against Liverpool
Taking to his BBC column, Crooks made no mistake in naming Duran in the best XI of matchday 37 in the Premier League, lauding the striker’s ‘clinical’ actions in the dying embers.
‘On comes Colombia international Jhon Duran and as quick as a flash Villa are level.
‘Both his goals are as instinctive as they are clinical. It’s not often I select substitutes but when a player has such an impact on a fixture as Duran did it’s impossible not to.’
READ MORE: Aston Villa fans are all saying the same thing about Jhon Duran after Liverpool draw
Despite only playing 11 minutes on Monday night, Crooks was right in deeming it ‘impossible’ to exclude the £18m arrival from his Team of the Week, as his spirited approach ultimately earned Villa a point.
Jhon Duran was the difference-maker against Liverpool
It was the moment that Duran would have dreamed of ahead of the game, with his window to impress Emery being slim this season as he continues to act as Ollie Watkins’ number two.
As noted by talent scout Jacek Kulig, who lauded the Colombia international as having the potential to become a ‘top striker’, Duran has scored five goals in only 366 minutes of football in the Premier League this term.
Averaging only 19 minutes per game in the league, the 20-year-old’s brace against Liverpool saw his scoring frequency shorten to just 83 minutes, via Sofascore, telling Emery just how reliable of a squad player he can be for Villa.
There will be hope that the 2003-born ace will be rewarded with a start against Crystal Palace on the final day, ahead of what could be an interesting summer for the youngster.
