Unai Emery’s Aston Villa just about got the better of RB Leipzig away from home in a thrilling 3-2 victory on Europe’s biggest stage.
The enthralling contest thankfully saw the Villans pick up their fourth overall win in the new Champions League format this season come full-time, after a late deflected Ross Barkley effort proved to be the crucial difference maker between the two entertaining sides.
Away from the obvious ecstasy at the end – with a win in Germany meaning Villa are third in the overall league standings – it was a night ridden with anxiety, as for all of the top performers that shone for the away side there were also some notably shaky displays.
A mixed night for Villa
Emiliano Martinez definitely slots into that latter category after falling victim to a major blunder for Leipzig’s opener on the night, as the World Cup winning goalkeeper clumsily came off his line to retrieve a long ball, only for Lois Openda to swoop in and confidently score at his expense to make it 1-1.
It was the Villa defence in front of him that would be more at fault for Leipzig’s second, with another punt up the pitch catching the away side off-guard, before lax defending from the likes of Pau Torres and Diego Carlos allowed the hosts to craft out an opening for Christoph Baumgartner to convert from.
Of course, it wasn’t all bad on Villa’s end in the back-and-forth affair, as the attackers regularly tore the home side’s defence to shreds to pick up the win, especially after super sub himself Jhon Duran had entered the fray.
In total, the Villans registered 19 shots on the busy home goal, with one of those efforts sailing past Peter Gulasci after the potent Colombian had only been on the pitch a matter of seven minutes.
John McGinn and the aforementioned Barkley shared out the other strikes away from this spectacular effort from the 20-year-old, whilst Morgan Rogers was also at his captivating best in attack with a stunning six dribbles successfully completed.
But, it was another under-the-radar showing in the middle of the park from Boubacar Kamara that won many a plaudit after the dust had settled on the thrilling Tuesday night game, as the Frenchman continues to establish himself as a must in Emery’s XIs.
Emery's next Douglas Luiz
It could even be argued that the 25-year-old is slowly morphing into Emery’s next Douglas Luiz, in the fact he is a reliable head his manager can rely on centrally after the South American’s exit to Juventus in the summer.
Not quite as high-octane as Luiz – who bagged 22 goals from the holding midfield positions at Villa Park – the new Villa revelation still allows his side to tick with stylish displays in the middle like Luiz was capable of, alongside also showing off a level of forcefulness when needed.
Stat
Kamara
Minutes played
90
Goals scored
0
Assists
0
Touches
77
Accurate passes
53/60 (77%)
Key passes
2
Successful dribbles
2/2
Interceptions
2
Tackles
2
Total duels won
7/12
It’s clear to see from his numbers at the Red Bull Arena that Kamara put in a very solid display all-round, with two key passes and two successful dribbles notched up, alongside also getting stuck in with seven duels won on top of two tackles being amassed.
His top displays of late have even kept Amadou Onana out of the team, which is a big compliment to the Villa number 44, considering Onana cost a bumper £50m to obtain just this summer.
He’s also had to battle back from his own injury demons, but with 8/10 displays like the one he put in against Leipzig – as was handed out to him by Birmingham Live journalist John Townley – he is a shoo-in for many a Villa lineup moving forward.
With three wins on the bounce now, Villa look to have recaptured their mojo, with Kamara hoping he can reach even loftier heights past this standout showing in Germany to reinforce his label as the club’s next Luiz.
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