Aston Villa labelled 'dark horses' for Champions League, ex-Prem coach rates them above Man City
Villa have won two from two in Europe...
It is testament to the progress Aston Villa have made under Unai Emery that they are even in the Champions League, let alone being considered ‘dark horses’ for the competition.
Emery’s team are one of only seven teams with a 100 per cent record after two matchdays.
After cruising past BSC Young Boys in Switzerland, Aston Villa then stunned Bayern Munich as Jhon Duran rose from the bench to leave Manuel Neuer stranded.
Duran, six goals already despite starting only once in all competitions, has hogged much of the headlines.
But former Manchester United coach Benni McCarthy has seen enough from the others in claret and blue to suggest that Aston Villa may have a team capable of emulating that Bayern victory against some of the continent’s other big-hitters.
Aston Villa backed to challenge for the Champions League
“Dark horses, I think Aston Villa,” McCarthy says, highlighting the attacking talents of Morgan Rogers, Jacob Ramsey and Ollie Watkins as well as the quality of new signings Amadou Onana and Ian Maatsen.
“I think Villa. Their belief is crazy, man! They’ve got all these youngsters; Rogers, Ramsey, [Duran] coming off the bench and scoring, Watkins, Youri Tielemans…
“With the addition of Onana, they have a bit of bite. And, at the back, no-nonsense. [Ezri] Konsa and Pau Torres is more ball-playing. And then you’ve got Lucas Digne, the left-back who goes non-stop. And then they’ve got Maatsen, I think he is quality, man!”
Tielemans is playing arguably the best football of his career.
One Belgian reporter argues that Aston Villa’s number eight is at a higher level than Barcelona’s Frenkie de Jong these days. Onana has been a revelation at the base of Emery’s midfield, too. Three goals from nine appearances is as many as he managed in 37 for Everton in 2023/24.
Maatsen, meanwhile, has had to be content with a substitute role so far due to the excellent form of Digne on the left.
McCarthy is actually more positive about Aston Villa’s prospects than he is about those of Real Madrid and Manchester City.
Rodri absence could cost Manchester City the Champions League
Real, the reigning European champions, have underwhelmed so far with the addition of Kylian Mbappe to a previously flowing frontline creating a rather unpleasant broth with arguably one too many cook in the Santiago Bernabeu kitchen.
Man City, meanwhile, have lost arguably their most important player outside of Erling Haaland.
Rodri could miss the remainder of the season. And while Man City have been linked with Martin Zubimendi of Real Sociedad, TBR understands that the former Liverpool target is holding out for a switch to Real Madrid as things stand.
“I think Madrid and City,” McCarthy, who left his role on the Man United staff during the summer, said when asked which teams he feels will underperform in this season’s Champions League.
“City, Rodri not there, I think that takes some element [away]. Rodri was perfect. They will be motivated but I just feel that losing Rodri is crucial.”
Aston Villa will be expected to make it three wins from three in the league phase when they host Bologna on October 22nd. Club Brugge, RB Leipzig, Monaco and Celtic are all winnable opponents too, with a Juventus team in transition the most daunting fixture on the schedule.
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