Aston Villa manager Unai Emery says John Duran has “huge” potential after the 20-year-old once again came off the bench to score in the 3-2 Champions League win at Leipzig.
The Colombian has scored six times from the bench this season – more than any other player in Europe’s top five leagues.
He also has the most goals from outside the penalty area after his latest speculative strike helped Villa climb to third in the Champions League table.
Jhon Durán which is outrageous 🤯
Villa are back at the Red Bull Arena 👏#UCLonPrime pic.twitter.com/qTyp3iWhML
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Emery said: “The idea when we prepare the game plan is also to have the subscribers help if we needed it. Ollie Watkins had a minor injury and Duran scores. Emiliano Buendia comes on and assists Ross Barkley for the third goal. That’s what every coach would want.
“Sometimes he (Duran) is very passionate and we have to try to keep the balance with him.
“He scored a great goal and he is working and we are trying to get the team strong with a tactical approach. Its potential is enormous. He is regularly improving and today he played a fantastic 45 minutes.”
Villa are well placed to qualify directly for the knockouts, and Barkley’s 85th-minute winner moves them five points behind leaders Liverpool with two games remaining.
Emery told Amazon Prime: “The Champions League is very difficult and we have to expect that every team playing at home feels strong. We played with consistency and dominance.
“Today we thought that if we won we could be contenders in the last two matches to be in the eight. We have achieved this selection and we will try to reach the top eight. We are happy because we are in the first 24.”
