STADION WANKDORF – Even on your Champions League bow, sometimes you’ve just got to lump it up to the big man.
Youri Tielemans and Jacob Ramsey would go on to score, but first was what could go down as a fitting tribute to Gary Shaw, the Aston Villa legend who died on Monday.
Shaw was Villa’s striker when they won the European Cup in 1982, and while his name was sung by away supporters all night, how he would have loved the moment that kicked them into Champions League gear.
It was simple, it was old-school, it was a long ball up top. Emiliano Martinez picked out Ollie Watkins, his cushioned header found John McGinn, and his resulting effort went narrowly over.
Sure, it wasn’t a goal, but it was Villa’s first chance, and woke them from their slumber. For 20 minutes, they had looked flat, maybe overawed by their first game in this competition for 41 years, but from then on, they were utterly dominant.
That dash of old, from this side playing 4-4-2 no less, was followed by a modern touch, instrumental for their first goal.
Unai Emery rarely leaves his technical area but when he does you know what’s coming next: a set-piece. Villa’s specialist in that area, Austin MacPhee, takes his boss’ places, pointing fingers and barking out instructions.
And on this occasion, another move made at Bodymoor this time led to their first-ever Champions League goal.
A short corner between Lucas Digne and McGinn resulted in Tielemans being found at the back post, and after taking a touch he rifled in a tidy effort. The Belgian wheeled away to the fans in the corner of this stadium, while MacPhee turned with the look of a rockstar – it’s the hair – when fist-pumping and celebrating towards the bench.
Suddenly, Villa looked settled and composed, having managed to wrestle the momentum away from a side who were not fearing these Champions League newbies, and had beaten Manchester United and Juventus here in recent years.
That was the sticking point Villa had to overcome. Their inexperience. And after riding out those first nervy 20 minutes, by 38 minutes they were two goals to the good, with Birmingham-born Ramsey capitalising on a horrendous defensive error from the hosts.
It then become about game management, with Villa looking to achieve what they had not done in the Conference League knockout stages last season – win away from home.
In that regard, then, they have upgraded, a necessity when you climb two rungs of the European ladder, and they even finished with a strut in their stride.
After Jhon Duran’s goal was chalked off – but the yellow card for fronting up to the ultras still stood – Amadou Onana added the icing with a fine strike from distance.
From shaky to start, to ending with a swagger, here was Villa schooling Young Boys after learning lessons from last year’s European journey, and while half of this team lacked Champions League experience heading into this game, by the end you wouldn’t have known it.
Morgan Rogers belongs on this stage, as does Ramsey, Watkins, Onana, McGinn, and a handful of others, and now it has quickly become clear that if ensuring they are not among the worst 12 teams of this league phase – yes, this format will take some getting used to – Villa’s mission is off to the best possible start.
from Football - inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/0gUfvO7
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