3 weeks ago
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MORGAN ROGERS was robbed of the last-gasp goal which would have ended Aston Villa’s six-match winless run.
But instead, the new England international was denied by ref Jesus Gil Manzano who ruled that Diego Carlos had fouled Juventus keeper Michele Di Gregorio.
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GettyRogers netted with virtually the last kick of the match after the Juve gloveman had spilled a Youri Tielemans free-kick.
But Spanish referee Manzano, who had enraged Villa Park for much of the night, ended up in danger of sparking a riot.
So seven matches have now passed since Villa last won a game of football but there is not remotely any sense of the Holte End losing faith in Unai Emery.
It is Emery who propelled Villa on to European football’s grandest stage and Emery who will surely still lead them into the Champions League knock-out stage.
It took a miraculous save from Emi Martinez – newly-crowned as the world’s best goalkeeper for a second successive year – to secure a draw against Juventus.
The feline gymnastics of the big Argentinian somehow kept out a second-half header from Francisco Conceicao by the slimmest of margins.
And while Lucas Digne had hit the crossbar for Villa with a first-half free-kick, Emery’s side were left grateful for a point as they entertained Italian royalty on a bitter Birmingham night.
There is little doubt that Villa will qualify for the knock-outs on their first adventure in Europe’s elite competition for 42 years – it is just a matter of whether they reach the last-16 directly, or whether will need to contest a play-off round.
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The ball was millimetres from crossing the lineThat is the problem with Uefa’s new monstrous group stage – there is precious little jeopardy for most clubs.
But for Villa’s supporters, it is still a case of being damned happy just to be here.
Villa only managed to halt a four-match losing run in Saturday’s 2-2 home draw with struggling Crystal Palace and the demands of fighting on two major fronts is almost invariably a problem.
But despite a frustrating stalemate, Villa are still living the dream.
Villa hadn’t won in six matches in all competitions since their last Champions League home clash, against Bologna.
But these European nights at Villa Park have held a proper sense of occasion, assaults on the senses – fireworks, giant banners, songs of praise cranked up to full volume. – and Emery’s men have thrived on the theatre of it all.
They have been handed home matches against three former champions of Europe – Bayern Munich, Juve and later Celtic.
And while this is nothing like the star-spangled Juve side which won here in 1983, with Paolo Rossi, Michel Platini and Zbigniew Boniek – they are a club which always carry an aura.
Supporters of many clubs might moan about the bloated nature of the new Champions League format, with its skyscraper-tall league table – but not Villa’s.
This was the sort of night when Jack Frost nips at brass monkeys although Emi Martinez warmed a few cockles by parading his Yashin Trophy after being voted the world’s No 1 keeper for a second straight year.
Most of the early heat was aimed at ref Jesus Gil Manzano – who booked Youri Tielemans and Leon Bailey inside the first 12 minutes while failing to punish the visitors for similar fouls.
Juve looked exactly what they are – a side unbeaten in Serie A, but who had contested four goalless draws already this season.
The Italians were tight in their marking, neat in their passing and streetwise in their rolling around.
Aston Villa were denied a last-minute winnerVilla did have their moments though – Pau Torres glancing a header wide of the near post from a Boubacar Kamara corner then Watkins having a shot beaten away by Michele Di Gregorio after a cute Kamara through-ball.
From the resulting corner, Matty Cash had a thumping shot blocked but Juve broke rapidly and Timothy Weah – son of Ballon d’Or winner George – blazed over Martinez’s crossbar.
Torres was booked for a late one on Weah but the biggest roar of the first half arrived when Manzano finally cautioned a Juve player – Pierre Kalulu for fouling Watkins on the edge of the area.
Lucas Digne curled the free-kick against the crossbar but after the break, Juve began to take a grip on proceedings.
The away supporters were howling for a penalty after Torres handled in the box but Manzano and his VAR were unimpressed.
Soon, a Teun Koppmeiners corner found its way to the back post where Conceicao’s downward looked certain to have broken the deadlock – until you remembered the identity of Villa’s goalkeeper.
Martinez bent his body backwards at an improbable angle and, with a big right hand, scooped the ball to safety.
Goal-line technology footage showed that the Argentinian had completed his task with millimetres to spare
It sparked another chorus of ‘Emi Martinez, the world’s number one’.
Heartened by their escape, Villa got on the front foot and Bailey cut-back for John McGinn, whose shot was scrambled off the line.
With 13 minutes remaining, Emery sent for Jhon Duran – the sub who can’t spell his own first name but cannot stop scoring from the bench.
Not this time, though.
After Rogers was denied late on, Villa head to Chelsea on Sunday with a tough task on their hands not to extend that winless run to eight.
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