Aston Villa pulled off the biggest win in their recent history with their 1-0 win over Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Wednesday night.
The fixture mirrored the 1982 European Cup final in which Aston Villa also beat Bayern Munich 1-0 with Peter Withe the match winner on that famous night.
Gary Shaw played up front for Villa that night and the club showed a real touch of class as they included Shaw in the squad in the match day programme after he passed away last month.
The Villa side Unai Emery oversaw on Wednesday night embodied the spirt of ’82 as they hounded Bayern all over the pitch before substitute Jhon Duran cemented his place in Villa folklore with the winner on 79 minutes.
Manuel Neuer admits Bayern Munich could not live with Aston Villa aggression
Despite Villa’s remarkable rise under Emery, Villa went into the Bayern clash underdogs.
Bayern won their Champions League opener 9-2 against Dinamo Zagreb and have dropped points just once in the Bundesliga this season.
However, roared on by a deafening Villa Park, Villa matched the German giants in every department and deserved the win that leaves them on six points after two games in the competition.
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Speaking after the game, Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer explained just what it was that made his side struggle against Villa, saying: “Out of 10 games, it’d probably be six wins, perhaps three draws and one loss, if you look at the game like that.
“We didn’t play a bad game, although not our best, but that can happen in football.
“Aston Villa did well, bided their time, especially in the first press, and tried to force us down one side. We struggled a bit against this aggressive defence.
“Nevertheless, we had our chances but we couldn’t put them in the back of the net.”
Aston Villa game plan worked a treat in Bayern Munich win
Since Emery took over as Villa manager in late 2022 Villa their aggressive work out of possession has been a feature of the team.
Where many managers would have deviated from this plan against a side of Bayern’s calibre, Emery refused to back down and it proved the right decision.
Villa’s game plan was clear: win the ball back quickly and exploit the space in behind Bayern’s high line.
Ollie Watkins was a constant threat running in behind and had the better of Dayot Upamecano before Duran finished Watkins’ work by coming on and scoring after a Pau Torres ball in behind the Bayern defence.
Anyone who doubted Villa in Europe will now be eating their words as Emery has overseen the perfect start in Europe’s elite club competition.
