Champions Journal savours the sights and sounds of an unforgettable night at Villa Park, when past and present came together for the visit of Bayern München. ow has this happened? It was the question etched on every wide-eyed face as a sense of bewildered wonderment took hold ahead of Aston Villa’s first home game in Europe’s elite club competition for four decades. Just two years before, with a third of the season gone, the club hovered precariously over the Premier League trapdoor; the spectre of England’s second flight, whose treacherous clutches they had not long escaped, lurked ominously. Yet here Villa were, counting down to a first-ever Champions League home game against, of all opponents, Bayern München – the very team they beat on their most famous night of all: the 1982 European Cup final. So, again, how had this happened? For many, the two-word answer is simple: Unai Emery. The impact at Villa Park since his arrival on Monday 24 October 2022 has been transformational, and not unappreciated. To mark the return of Europe’s top club competition, a mural was unveiled on an end-of-terrace house by the stadium in September. It features 1982 final scorer Peter Withe, his late and great team-mate Gary Shaw, World Cup winner Emi Martínez and Ollie Watkins, whose goals have underpinned Villa’s ascent. And front and centre is Emery, the Basque who has the residents of B6 dreaming again. And dream they did, on an evening that will live long in the memory. Even the weather seemed in on it. Grey skies leaden with years of disappointment magically vanished in the hours before kick-off, replaced by unblemished azure. If that isn’t a sign of divine providence then what is? Into the famous old stadium, and the expectant hubbub that permeated England’s second city amplified as a lightshow gave way to fireworks and then the players’ emergence. It went up a notch when the opening bars of the Champions League anthem finally made themselves heard, and the volume was a solid 11 when the crowd joined in for the last cry of “The champions!” And so it remained for the next two hours. The English side were at pains to show they belonged, trying to convince themselves as much as anybody. The most recent entry on the fading wall of honours outside Villa Park’s North Stand is the 1995/96 League Cup; since then, Bayern have hoarded a king’s ransom that includes 20 Bundesliga titles and three Champions Leagues. Yet Villa have history too, and reminders of 1982 were regular, if not always overly subtle. The visitors’ pre-match warm-up had begun to the gentle hum of The Beautiful South’s Rotterdam, scene of that final 42 years previously, and the fans later hammered the message in a more DIY ditty, boasting “We even conquered Europe” in a bespoke version of Allez, Allez, Allez. For the first quarter of the game, though, it was all Bayern. The Bavarian giants have been there, done that. They have all the T-shirts. Villa were disciplined, cautious and respectful to the point of deference. Then Pau Torres found the net and, though his goal was disallowed for offside, something clicked. Emery was still prowling the technical area where, six years previously to the day, a disgruntled fan had thrown a cabbage at then boss Steve Bruce. But having spent the first 22 minutes signalling like an aircraft marshal, arms elaborately directing the traffic, now he crossed them in quiet contentment, even when an injury to local boy Jacob Ramsey forced a rejig. Midway through the second half came another. On 67 minutes, Villa Park united in applause to mark the timing of the 1982 final winner, with TV cameras zeroing in on its scorer Withe, who had travelled back from his home in Australia for the occasion. Perhaps Emery glanced up at the commentary of that goal immortalised on a banner that has been moved directly opposite the dugouts this season. He certainly took the hint, calling Jhon Durán back from his warm-up – and the noise levels rose again as the Colombian, whose heroics off the bench this season have ignited Villa’s campaign, entered the fray. What happened next is already folklore, with a Durán goal for the ages prompting delirium from the heights of the Holte End to Prince William in the posh seats. Vincent Kompany’s men battled back – of course they did – but a day that had begun with a feeling of bewilderment ended with a sense of destiny: Aston Villa 1-0 Bayern certainly has a ring to it. Martínez’s stunning 96th-minute save to deny Harry Kane confirmed the result, and the volume that had been stuck on 11 all evening hit new heights. What next for Villa? Nobody knows. Right now, nobody seems to care.