Champions League: RB Leipzig 2 Aston Villa 3
After Jhon Durán scored, another ludicrously powerful strike within seven minutes of entering the field, he celebrated by showing the Aston Villa supporters the palms of his hands, as if to say, calm down, what else did you possibly expect? Perhaps it explains why Unai Emery, hands in the pockets of his puffer coat, was unmoved.
Another substitute, Ross Barkley, ultimately earned victory, however, after Leipzig twice pegged Villa back, Lois Openda and Christoph Baumgartner cancelling out goals by John McGinn and that one from Durán.
Villa supporters crooned Emery’s name throughout and his changes proved inspired. Durán made another timely contribution and Barkley scored within two minutes of replacing Youri Tielemans. Barkley took aim from the edge of the box and his right-foot shot took a wicked deflection off the Germany defender Lukas Klostermann, wrong-footing Peter Gulacsi, to push Villa up to third. With a trip to Monaco and a home game against Celtic remaining in the league phase, Villa are in a fine spot to make a play for the top eight.
Earlier in the day, over the river from this vast arena, built within the original structure of Zentralstadion, these clubs played out a classic in the Uefa Youth League, Villa triumphing 4-3 to advance courtesy of two stoppage-time goals, the winner a penalty from 17-year-old Ben Broggio, who made his first-team debut in September.
So the bar was high. Villa made the perfect start, McGinn striking in the third minute after clever play by Ollie Watkins. Matty Cash, operating at right wing-back, cut infield on to his left foot and floated a cross towards Watkins, who spied McGinn and cushioned a downward header into the path of his captain. McGinn, who darted clear of a sleeping Nicolas Seiwald, applied a crisp finish. Watkins eluded Lutsharel Geertruida, a defensive summer transfer target for Villa, who instead joined Leipzig from Feyenoord.
More than 2,000 Villa supporters travelled for Villa’s first game in Germany, many of whom spent the afternoon wandering the tributaries of the feelgood Christmas market and indulging in glühwein.
McGinn’s goal brought more cheer and Villa dominated the opening 27 minutes, until Leipzig equalised with their first meaningful attack. Morgan Rogers, with bleach-blond hair, sent a shot straight at the Leipzig goalkeeper Gulacsi and Youri Tielemans skewed wide at the end of a slick team move, Watkins, back in the starting line-up despite Durán’s winner at the weekend, squaring the ball after McGinn combined with Lucas Digne. Cash also sliced an effort wide. Watkins, who saw another tame shot repelled, was replaced by Durán at the interval.
Villa gifted Club Brugge a route to victory last month, after Tyrone Mings picked the ball up from an Emiliano Martínez kick, and while Leipzig’s leveller was not as humiliating, it was another cheap goal and costly error. This time Martínez was the culprit, though Diego Carlos should also shoulder some of the blame. Siewald played a routine long diagonal pass downfield and Openda whizzed between Cash and Ezri Konsa to latch on to the ball, seemingly much to the surprise of Carlos and his goalkeeper, who rushed out of goal to hoover up the danger.
But Openda seized on the mix-up to swipe the ball clear of an exposed Martínez and tucked it home into an empty net. When Durán is on the field he usually leaves an imprint. Early in the second half Boubacar Kamara sent a weak effort at Gulacsi that lacked conviction but the same could not be said for Durán’s latest beauty. The move started with Martínez and culminated in Durán looping an unstoppable shot over Gulacsi from almost 30 yards. Martínez cannoned a pass into Tielemans, who played a one-two with Rogers, and then released Durán, who marauded forward, only one thing on his mind. Last time it was Manuel Neuer and Bayern Munich, this time Gulacsi and Leipzig.
Six minutes later the Colombian thought he had doubled his tally for the night but Cash, who squared the ball to the penalty spot after Konsa fizzed a pass inside the right channel, was fractionally offside in the build-up.
Leipzig, trailing and rarely threatening with Benjamin Sesko muted in attack, sought to repeat an earlier trick. This time Benjamin Henrichs supplied the booming diagonal pass downfield, with Openda surging between Carlos and Konsa in the left channel. Martínez momentarily ran from his goal, as if trying to spook the Leipzig forward, but quickly reversed. Openda expertly controlled the ball and, now under pressure, spotted Baumgartner drifting towards the back post. He hooked the ball across the face of goal and past Martínez.
Ten minutes later, Villa were guilty of another defensive lapse. Emery, even if outwardly calm, would have been inwardly raging at the manner in which his team conceded two cheap goals, with Leipzig seemingly en route to recording their first point in the competition. But Barkley, with the assistance of a major deflection, put Villa firmly on course for the last 16. – Guardian
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