Aston Villa clinched a mammoth 1-0 victory over Bayern Munich in the Champions League without captain John McGinn.
In a night that will be remembered for decades, Jhon Duran’s stunning late winner handed Aston Villa all three points against Bayern Munich.
It was a special night for everyone involved with Villa and the victory belonged to the late Gary Shaw, who would have been immensely proud of his side.
John McGinn was another beaming with pride, as his Aston Villa teammates secured an incredible win without him present.
The Scottish midfielder suffered a hamstring injury in the 3-1 victory over Wolves 12 days ago and Unai Emery recently confirmed McGinn would be sidelined for another two to three weeks.
McGinn would have been disappointed not to have been a part of the side on Wednesday night, just like centre-back Tyrone Mings, but he still showed his support from the sidelines.
John McGinn sends Aston Villa message after win vs Bayern Munich
McGinn will be cursing his luck that he couldn’t feature in a historic Aston Villa win against Bayern, despite playing a vital role in their rise towards Europe’s elite competition.
The 29-year-old rarely ever gets injured, just like teammate Ollie Watkins, and that is why he will have felt a sense of frustration after suffering a hamstring injury.
While McGinn cheered his teammates on from the side, he summarized the moment in one wholesome word that resonated with every single supporter.
A huge sense of pride engulfed Villa Park on Wednesday night, with goalkeeper Emi Martinez describing the fans as ‘unreal’ and the atmosphere as the best he’s ever heard since joining the club in 2020.
It’s moments like these that don’t come around very often but with Unai Emery at the helm, supporters will be hoping it’s a regular occurrence.
Unai Emery’s masterclass vs Bayern Munich
Throughout this campaign so far, Emery has shown his ability to time his substitutions to perfection, and that was evident against the German giants.
The decision to replace the substitute, Leon Bailey, was a bold call but his replacement, Ian Maatsen gave Villa an added impetus in attack.
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While nothing more needs to be said about the call to bring Duran off the bench for Watkins in the 70th minute, with the 20-year-old beautifully lobbing Manuel Neuer 10 minutes later.
Emery rolled the dice and in that moment, had the belief that Duran could be the hero for Aston Villa once more, and it wasn’t a shock to anyone when he scored the winning goal.
On the night, the Spaniard got his setup tactically spot on and his substitutions were even better, as they helped inspire a wonderful victory.
