Jhon Duran lights up RB Leipzig as German media hail Aston Villa ‘whirlwind’
Jhon Duran scoring seven minutes after coming off the bench left Germany’s media in awe as Aston Villa beat RB Leipzig 3-2 on Tuesday.
German outlet Spox described Duran as a “whirlwind” (10 December) after he entered the fray at half-time and found the net in the 52nd minute, putting Villa back in front after John McGinn’s early opener.
Ollie Watkins had teed up that early strike for McGinn but was withdrawn for Duran at the break, with the Colombian “on fire straight away” as he put Unai Emery’s side back on course for their victory.
Jhon Duran is the man for Aston Villa once again v RB Leipzig
Duran doing serious damage off the bench is certainly nothing new this season, but Villa’s “whirlwind” substitute is seemingly becoming harder for opposition teams to stop.
In his 45-minute display against Leipzig, Duran completed every single one of his dribbles, long ball attempts and tackles [FotMob], showing that the Colombian is far more than just a finisher.
In fact, despite beating Gulacsi from a distance to score spectacularly early in the second half, this was the only on-target effort Duran managed, missing two chances from much shorter range.
A 33 per cent shooting accuracy doesn’t take away from Duran’s performance though, with the 20-year-old producing 0.29 xG and completing 75 per cent of his passes [SofaScore], three in the final third.
Duran also winning 100 per cent of his four duels [FotMob], all coming on the ground, shows that his hold-up play is also improving by the week, providing a more than viable alternative to Watkins up front.
Adding another spectacular goal to his scrapbook alongside winning strikes against Everton and Bayern Munich so far this season, Duran’s starting claims can’t be ignored by Emery for much longer.
In other Aston Villa news, former boss Tim Sherwood also had high praise for Duran.
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