by Unai Emery said he was more exhausted than his players after Monday night’s dramatic 3-3 draw with Liverpool, with John Duran serving the Hollywood finish in front of an on-look Tom Hanks.
It was Villa’s worst mistake of the season in the first half and few would have expected a late comeback with the clock ticking at Villa Park. But Duran wasn’t willing to stand on ceremony and let the game pass him by.
After putting his first goal past Alisson, his second goal was a complete fluke when the ball was deflected off Moussa Diaby. But maybe he deserved that luck after being patient and waiting for his chance throughout the campaign.
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Here are the talking points from Villa’s dramatic draw…
McGINN PRAISES THE POWER OF THE HOLTE
Emery called Duran a “special player” after full-time, and McGinn admitted at times he can be a nightmare to play with, let alone against. Duran is still young and has a lot to learn, but he clearly has a lot of talent.
After the ball curled into the net for Villa’s equaliser, Hanks jumped up next to Chris Heck and immediately put his hands on his head in an expression of pure shock and surprise. He didn’t quite know how to celebrate! His response summed up the game – what had we just watched?
“It was a crazy game to be honest,” McGinn told the BBC. “A point makes it more difficult for Tottenham. It was clear we needed the three.
“There are times after this season that we went forward, we came back, ended up losing it. It was a bit of game management. I know it’s not the three but it’s a huge one moving on face.”
Asked about the power of Villa Park: “This place can do that to teams. Like the Kop at Anfield. This crowd really believes in this team.”
AND IT WAS ALMOST PERFECT
As the Holte End tried their best to slowly drag the ball into the goal, it was Diaby who had the chance to score the most likely goals. In the third minute of the nine added at the end of the second half, Diaby burst into the box and hit the ball towards the goal, but Alisson made the right save to deny what would have been the winner.
Ollie Watkins saw that Duran was open to a cut and made his point clear to Diaby after he opted to shoot and missed the chance.
Even if Villa came close to winning the game, it felt like they did just that given the nature of their return and what it means in the race for Champions League football. Challengers Tottenham must now beat Manchester City to keep their hopes alive.
“Let’s go to the Champions League baby,” shouted Martinez down the microphone after a lap of respect for Villa. It followed McGinn thanking the fans for their support during the campaign.
The skipper said: “The boys were out on their feet tonight. We’ve given our all this season and hopefully that’s enough for the Champions League. Come on Man City tomorrow night!”
Then, just like last season, the crowd fell silent on Emery’s message.
“We have enjoyed the season with many emotions,” he told the fans. “This is for you. You have always supported us and we transferred your energy and passion. We had a dream at the beginning of the season to be on the last day with the possibility of getting the Champions League.
After he started to walk away, Emery called the mic back and shouted: “Up the Villa!”
CLARET & TRUTH BLUE
MARTINEZ BUNCES BACK
The Villa Park crowd has seen something unusual this season and Emery was right, they gave the players energy when they needed it. The Bournemouth game was the perfect example of this after a couple of terrible games against Lille and Arsenal.
Villa fell behind to even the game after Matty Cash’s penalty in the first half. But the crowd was there to support him and the team immediately to sing ‘the Polish Cafu’.
So, after Martínez made the uncharacteristic mistake of dropping the ball into his own net in the opening stages on Monday night, the supporters were quick to pick him up. ‘Emi Martinez, number one in the world’ shouted around the stadium immediately afterwards.
The goalkeeper’s own goal after 61 seconds was the earliest scored in a Premier League game since Antolin Alcaraz put the ball into his own net after 54 seconds for Everton against Southampton in April 2014.
It was also Martinez’s third own goal in the Premier League – the most by a goalkeeper in the competition. It won’t be a night that Martínez will reflect on too much personally, but he still made two or three excellent saves to keep Villa in the game late on.
TIELEMANS: HOME FORM IS NO SURPRISE
Tielemans was Emery’s only change to the side that lost in Greece last week after the midfielder returned from injury. He showed what Villa have been missing in recent weeks and scored his second league goal of the season.
After becoming full-time, he was quick to praise the fans and their role in helping Villa build a fortress under Emery.
“We created chances but we didn’t score,” Tielemans revealed on Sky Sports. “We got the draw and we fought right to the end and that’s the most important thing.
“Unfortunately we couldn’t score more, we felt we deserved more in the first half. He is unlucky but we will win the final.
“We are in that fourth place and we want to keep it. We just want to thank the fans, you can feel the atmosphere in the club.
“The fans have been fantastic all season and it’s no surprise that we have a fantastic home record this season.”
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