'We were speaking about it' - Unai Emery reveals what he told Jhon Duran before winning goal vs Bayern Munich

Duran scored as a super substitute for the fifth time this season to earn Villa a famous 1-0 victory over Bayern in the Champions League on Wednesday night.

It wasn’t just any ordinary goal, either, as the Colombia international lobbed Manuel Neuer - one of the best goalkeepers of this generation - from outside the box. Villa Park went ballistic as the ball nestled into the corner; a moment of pure genius from Duran, who is proving to be the ultimate impact sub.

Perhaps the most extraordinary part is the goal was entirely planned, as the possibility of chipping Neuer was discussed pre-match. Villa, up against one of the best sides in Europe, were the underdogs and needed to think outside the box. That’s exactly what they did to source their winner.

“Yes, yes. This is the talent that they have, some players. With Jhon Duran, we were speaking about it,” Emery confirmed during the press conference.

“When Jhon Duran received the ball, he was scoring quick because in the analysis we did of them, we were speaking a lot about how it’s usually the position of Neuer, always high. Really, I spoke with my coaches about how he should shoot because he had in his mind this possibility about Neuer,” Emery said.

Scoring from such a position - on the transition following one pinpoint long pass - was the tactic all along. Emery knew Villa would have to operate in a mid-block for much of the encounter, so the best chance of winning was to always come from exploiting Ollie Watkins’ and Duran’s pace in behind.

“We had different ways in our game plan,” Emery added. “It was not easy to break the press. We did it sometimes. We needed to set the long ball to our strikers. We were preparing the match sometimes tow against two or even four against four.

“To get the long ball we did, it was not easy against players they have, they fight usually. We had different ways to get something attacking in our game plan.”