EMERY MASTERMINDS 'STATEMENT' VICTORY

Villa beat free-scoring Bayern 1-0 in first home Champions League game for 41 years

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LONDON – Bayern Munich had not lost a Champions League group game since 2017 until a 1-0 defeat by Aston Villa on Oct 2 that hinted at a new era of European glory for the English side.

Villa relived the club's greatest night, when they beat Bayern to lift the European Cup in 1982, in their first home match at the continent's elite level for 41 years.

The Birmingham team's fortunes have been transformed in less than two years since Unai Emery took charge, catapulting Villa from battling relegation at the bottom of the Premier League to finishing in the top four in the 2023-24 season. Now two games into their first experience since the European Cup was rebranded to the Champions League, they are one of just seven sides with maximum points.

Prince William was among the over 40,000 Villa fans who inspired Emery's men to shrug off the vast gulf in Champions League pedigree between the sides.

Britain's future King was among those to congratulate the Villa manager in a meeting after the match.