Credit: Manh Tung - Breaking Media

James Barker

Mon 20 April 2026 12:10, UK

Amadou Onana credited the “magic” of Villa Park, as the Aston Villa midfielder once again proved just how vital he is in the 4-3 win over Sunderland.

It was a Sunday afternoon clash for the ages in B6, as Aston Villa emerged victorious from a seven-goal thriller against Sunderland.

Unai Emery‘s side have now all but confirmed a Champions League place for 2026-27, taking that specific element of pressure off their Europa League campaign too.

Numerous Villa players enjoyed excellent performances against the Black Cats, but as he sometimes has the tendency to do, Onana’s display perhaps went under the radar slightly.

The Belgian international seldom slips below a seven out of 10 for Villa every match, and whilst he didn’t grab the headlines against Sunderland, he was crucial to the win.

What did Amadou Onana say after Sunderland win?

Aston Villa are set for transfer interest in Onana, with Manchester United the latest club to be linked with a possible move for him.

Right now though, he will be solely focused on helping Villa enjoy a memorable campaign, with Champions League football on the verge of being secured and a Europa League still to win.

He’s quickly become a real fan favourite ever since his summer 2024 move from Everton, with Villa fans loving his work rate, quality and personality.

Onana is one of those players who you can so clearly see loves playing for Villa, and is rarely captured without a smile on his face.

And, taking to his Instagram after the Sunderland win, he once again showed his character with a tongue-in-cheek comment, as well as paying homage to the Villa Park faithful for their role in the victory.

“No one like boring anyway. Villa Park worked its magic again,” Onana said.

How good was Onana in Aston Villa vs Sunderland?

Operating in central midfield alongside Youri Tielemans, the pair have needed to form a strong partnership following the injury to Boubacar Kamara.

That’s precisely what they’ve done as well, with the two Belgian comrades working brilliantly well together, complementing each other’s strengths perfectly.

So, whilst Onana wasn’t able to provide a goal contribution in the win over Sunderland, he did contribute so much to Villa’s engine room once again, ensuring they weren’t outworked by a formidable Black Cats midfield department of their own.

As per Sofascore, Onana played one key pass, completed 87 per cent of his passes accurately, with an 85 per cent pass success rate in the opposition half as well as a 89 per cent success rate in his own half respectively.

He also blocked one shot, lost possession only five times, won two of his three ground duels, made three recoveries and wasn’t dribbled past once.

It was yet another seven out of 10 showing that further proved just how vital he is to Villa, as even when he’s not directly impacting the result by way of a goal contribution, his industry and presence in midfield is so important.

Onana is as consistent as they come, and deserves so much credit for stepping up in the way he’s done so following Kamara’s injury, as had he not, then Villa may not be in the position they find themselves both in the Premier League and in Europe.