Aston Villa just edged past Leipzig in the Champions League on Tuesday night, with Jhon Duran scoring a rocket in the five goal thriller – watch the full highlights below.
Aston Villa Win Five Goal Thriller
Despite their poor record on the road in Europe this season, Aston Villa started brightly in Germany and they had the lead after just two minutes courtesy of a well worked John McGinn finish.
The visitors were only ahead for just under half an hour, until Lois Openda levelled proceedings with the Belgian capitalising on a rare mistake by Emiliano Martinez to round the keeper and poke into an open goal.
With the score level at half time Villa were forced into making an early change up front, as the injured Ollie Watkins was replaced by Jhon Duran.
Duran made an instant impact and he scored with one of his first touches on the pitch. After some smart Villa passing in midfield, Duran unleashed a rocket from around 30 yards out which flew over the keeper and into the back of the net to give the visitors a lead.
Villa thought they had all but sealed a win just before the hour mark, as Duran scored Villa’s third and his second of the game after just 11 minutes on the pitch.
Unfortunately for the Columbian, Matty Cash was caught offside in the buildup by merely a toe and the goal was disallowed after a short VAR check.
Just minutes after thinking they had gone two in front, Villa conceded, with Openda again involved in Leipzig’s goal as he floated a ball to Christoph Baumgartner at the back post who guided in an equaliser on the volley.
Right until the final whistle it looked like there was going to be more goals in the game and it was Villa were able to find a winner in the 85th minute.
Villa substitute Ross Barkley slipped as he shot from the edge of the box, but a huge deflection carried the ball past Péter Gulácsi in net to give the visitors a late lead.
WATCH: RB Leipzig 2-3 Aston Villa Champions League Highlights
A win for Villa solidifies their position towards the top of the Champions League standings and they currently sit in third place on 13 points. Unai Emery’s side still have to face Celtic and Monaco in their final two fixtures.
Leipzig were eliminated by Villa on Tuesday, with the loss making it mathematically impossible for the German’s to qualify for the knockout stages.
