BIRMINGHAM, England – Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez said the crowd was the loudest he had ever heard at Villa Park after helping his team beat Bayern Munich 1-0 in the Champions League on Wednesday night.

Jhon Duran’s long-range strike in the 79th minute was enough to give Villa a memorable win over Vincent Kompany’s Bayern Munich in what was the hosts’ first European match at Villa Park in 41 years.

Bayern had the majority of possession and had chances late in the match to level the match, but Martinez made a brilliant save to clear Harry Kane’s header from close range. And after the match, the Argentina World Cup winner paid tribute to the fans and dedicated the victory to them.

“This is the loudest Villa Park I’ve heard since I joined the club, that’s for sure,” Martinez said. “It hurt my ears at one point. I love playing here. I love the fans. This is a win for them.”

Although Martinez’s brilliant saves late in the match preserved the three points, they had Duran’s incredible strike to thank for a famous win. The goal came when Pau Torres’ long ball split the Bayern defense and Duran hit a first-time shot from 30 yards out that headed over Manuer Neuer’s head. Neuer was regularly positioned outside his penalty area when Bayern attacked, and Unai Emery revealed after the match that Villa had identified that as an opportunity area.

“When Duran received the ball, he shot quickly,” Emery said. “In the analysis we talked a lot about how Neuer’s usual positioning (and how it is) is always high. I talked to my assistant coaches about how to shoot (the first time), and he had this in his mind .”

Duran has an incredible knack for scoring late winners for Villa this season. This season he has four in the Premier League, three of which secured important wins for Villa. Emery started Ollie Watkins up front against Bayern, and he played 70 minutes before being replaced by the match winner.

The Villa manager said having two in-form strikers is a welcome headache, with Watkins also excelling for Villa.

“For my management it is a challenge because I have to get the best out of the players,” Emery said. “It’s a good problem for the team as I have one striker: Watkins, who is playing at the top level, and a young player who is developing his talent and wants to be in the first eleven. I am very happy with this situation.

“It was important that Watkins did the job in 70 minutes and Duran, in different ways, a new player, scored the goal to win the match. They (have) played together and will play together.”

Villa have won both of their Champions League games so far, having also beaten Young Boys 3-0. Emery said his team is aiming for one of the top eight places in the competition’s pool stages, which would see Villa qualify directly to the knockout round without the need for a match. play-off.

“I’m very proud of everything around Aston Villa,” Emery said afterwards.

The visitors had quite a few chances but were frustrated by Martinez and some brilliant Villa defending. Despite the defeat, Kompany said it would have little long-term impact on his team’s prospects in the Champions League.

It was a night of nostalgia at Villa Park as these two met in the 1982 European Cup Final, a match which Villa won 1-0. But Kompany said such memories have no bearing on Wednesday’s match.

“When it comes to winning and losing, you don’t need the context of so many years,” he said. “We lost the match, the match has its own stories. We had big chances and they had a moment, and at that moment they scored a goal. I understand the reason for the opponent, but it doesn’t decide the Champions League. ” Today.”

And having seen his team score just one goal in their last two games – in the 1-1 draw against Bayer Leverkusen – Kompany played down any concerns about their recent waste in front of goal.

“During two games against teams that I rate highly, we conceded few chances,” said Kompany. “What we normally do so well is score goals, for one reason or another, it has been against the crossbar or the post, but with the team we have I don’t see this as a trend. happened this week.

“If we focus on our own work, we will still win a lot of games.”