Aston Villa fought hard to earn a point against Liverpool on Monday evening although, it wasn’t only Jhon Duran who shone late on to secure the draw.
It was an occasion built for Jhon Duran on Monday night, as the Aston Villa striker imposed himself late on to act as Villa’s hero off the bench against Liverpool.
The Colombian recorded the dream 11-minute cameo, scoring twice in three minutes to level the scoring, seeing the Reds lose sight of the 3-1 lead that they held up to the 85th minute.
While the Villans would have preferred to have won the game to confirm their place in next season’s Champions League, Unai Emery won’t be complaining too much about the final score after the late drama.
After the game Aston Villa fans shared their thoughts on Duran’s heroics however, the Colombian wasn’t the only player to make an impact against the Reds.
Moussa Diaby changed the game for Aston Villa against Liverpool
Duran was the scorer and Moussa Diaby was the creator, as the Frenchman acted as the catalyst behind the 20-year-old’s 88th-minute equaliser.
The summer arrival was the difference-maker creatively for the Villans, who just needed that split second of quality to break down the visitors, who suppressed Emery’s attack’s waves of pressure.
Diaby’s burst of pace to find space in the compact midfield against Liverpool enabled him to play the ball into Duran, who may not have known too much about his finish that looped over the head of Alisson.
While the France international has been frustrating at times this season for Villa, his playmaking ability shone through at a time of need against the Reds, as he recorded a magnificent five key passes in the 90 minutes.
Moussa Diaby was Unai Emery’s key creator against Liverpool
To stress how impressive Diaby was at building play against Jurgen Klopp’s side, only Kevin De Bruyne recorded more key passes in the Premier League on Matchday 37, recording seven against Fulham, via TheOther14.
It has been a difficult first season in England for the France international, who signed for Villa last summer for a record-breaking fee of £51.9m.
Lauded for his ‘lively’ approach against the Reds by journalist John Townley, via BirminghamLive, the former Bayer Leverkusen star showed just why Emery and Monchi were desperate to welcome him to Villa Park.
Diaby receives his fair share of critique for his performances for Villa however, with one game remaining of the season, 14 goal contributions for a debut term in the English top flight is impressive.
Duran will rightfully earn all the praise for his brace against Liverpool however, the Colombian’s second would not have fallen to him had it not been for the work of Diaby.
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