With the finishing line of the Premier League season in sight, Aston Villa welcomed fellow mid-table meanderers Crystal Palace to B6 for a game with little riding on it.
The South London side have won many admirers this year for their attractive passing football and Patrick Vieiraβs backing of his young talents and, like Villa, will already be looking towards the summer window as they aim to reach for the higher echelons of the league next time out.
With the two sides firmly locked in the central block that has formed in the league table in recent months, this threatened to be a game with little jeopardy.Β
If the game itself was being billed as a dead rubber, the day as a whole would prove to be one of fitting celebration. This was because the club had designated this fixture as the weekend to celebrate that balmy night in De Kuip Stadium, Rotterdam in May 1982.
Hereβs how the two teams looked ahead of Villaβs penultimate home match of the season:
Villa were unchanged from their narrow defeat against title-chasing Liverpool, whilst Palace made four changes from their attritional victory over Championship-bound Watford.
Joel Ward, Will Hughes, Odsonne Edouard and Michael Olise dropped out, with Cheikhou Kouyate, Tyrick Mitchell, Luka Milivojevic and Jean-Philippe Mateta in to give the Eagles a more solid structure and a focal point up top.
As the two teams left their dressing roomβs, a choreographed display was unravelled, as fans in the home end waved white and claret flags in a nod to the pin-striped number which adorned the European royalty that was the class of β82 when they took down Bayern Munich. A giant European Cup rose in front of the famous Holte End and the names of the players and staff unfurled across the Doug Ellis stand.
Villa Park has changed a lot since the days of Shaw, Withe and Cowans, but the reception that this truly legendary group of players were met with showed that no matter how many years pass, they will always be heroes at this storied old club. The tales of the day that they defeated the all-conquering West German juggernaut Bayern Munich are etched eternally into footballing and Birmingham folklore, and will be passed down for generations to come.
Whilst the idea of the crop of European Cup winners welcoming the current stars onto the pitch had been mooted, according to Ashley Preece, gaffer Steven Gerrard and his leadership team decided it was only right for todayβs Villans to provide a guard of honour for those responsible for the clubβs finest hour.
This poignant moment brought a tear to many an eye, with fans, families and players taking in the monumental achievement of that group 40 years ago. As the festivities wound down with kick-off approaching, attention turned to the current side.
The two sides seem to be very evenly matched in terms of ability, and it was no surprise then that a cagey opening ensued. Villa should have hit the front very early on, though, as Danny Ings latched on to a rare Joachim Andersen miscue, but he could not keep a well-struck volley down.
Palace began to grow into the game and Tyrone Mings became the first player in the refereeβs notebook after he scythed down the impressive Gallagher after the Chelsea loanee broke through the Villa ranks. The England midfielder soon found himself in the book too, after a rash challenge on McGinn in midfield.
The side in yellow enjoyed much of the possession as the game ticked past the twenty minute mark, and danger man Wilfried Zaha broke free and unleashed a swerving effort. Emi Martinez was alert to the danger and adjusted to push the ball away at a comfortable height.
This was to be Zahaβs last real moment of quality in the game, as the talented forward started to lose his cool as he so often has throughout the years. His slips, misplaced passes and dives were jeered as he began to attempt to pick fights with John McGinn, then the fourth official, then Marvelous Nakamba of all people. The referee spent the rest of the afternoon being followed around by the petulant number eleven, and luckily for Villa, Zaha let his emotions halt him from posing a serious threat to the home sideβs goal.
Nathaniel Clyne and his former Liverpool teammate Danny Ings both went close before the break, but neither could find the crucial opener for their respective side. This was Ingsβ third presentable opportunity of the half, but the in-form striker could not add to his seven Villa goals. The score remained goalless at half time, and in truth neither team had done enough to warrant a lead, despite Villa having the more glaring opportunities and Palace having some really good spells of possession.
The half-time interval was a perfect opportunity for the legends of 1982 to parade the coveted trophy around the four sides of Villa Park. They were rightfully greeted with the applause and adulation that their achievements deserve, and the Palace fans, who have a brilliant reputation up and down the country, saluted the greats as they passed the away end.
As the European and English First Division champions headed back down the tunnel, Tyrone Mings led his troops out for the second half.
Having had less of the ball for the first 45, Villa began to dominate possession and moved the hard-working Crystal Palace side around. The hostsβ bright start to the half was soured by an injury to Ezri Konsa, with an initially innocuous looking tangle with Mateta that is likely to bring an end to the defenderβs involvement this season. The defender, who has had a turbulent season by his high standards, will come back stronger next year. Calum Chambers came in and was once again superb.
Neither side looked likely to break the deadlock, with the earlier pattern, of Palace keeping possession calmly and Villa looking solid if not dazzling, setting in once more. Unsurprisingly, it required the arrival of Jacob Ramsey to the game and some more Wilfred Zaha antics to get the home fans and their side going.
The midfielder returned from injury to replace the industrious and reliable Marvelous Nakamba, giving the fans a big lift as he instantly got the ball on the front foot. The atmosphere had already been sparked by Zaha, who, after an hour of whinging, finally found his sense of humour as he laughed along with the Villa faithful as he cupped his hands to his ears.
Within minutes of Ramseyβs introduction Villa found the breakthrough. The Villa Young Player of the Season picked up possession and drove at the Palace defence before slipping the ball to Lucas Digne. Both Digne and Cash have looked a real threat of late, and the French international will perhaps have felt aggrieved to have only registered two assists for his new club, as his eye for a cross and readiness to get on the overlap have been a breath of fresh air. This time, his enticing ball into the box got the finish it deserved.
Ollie Watkins, who had been causing Marc Guehi plenty of problems, beat his national team colleague to the ball and slotted in past Jack Butland. Guehi, alongside the composed Dane Joachim Andersen, has been a top quality addition to Palaceβs defensive ranks and will only improve in time, but his body position was all wrong on this occasion, and Watkins punished him to score his 25th Premier League goal.
Following the goal, manager Patrick Vieira was booked for his over-exuberant protestations. His counterpart Steven Gerrard perhaps sensed that Palace would have to become a bit more expansive in their play as they searched for an equaliser and he brought Emi Buendia on for Danny Ings, who had once again worked his socks off with little reward. Whilst Gerrard is assembling a squad with depth and quality all over, it seems glaringly obvious to many that Villa are a better side with the little Argentinian creator on the pitch. Buendia linked up well with Coutinho, Ramsey and Watkins and once again displayed that impressive trait of being able to lift the levels of the players around him.
The hosts had chances to seal the game but were wasteful as the score remained 1-0. A win would have been a real bonus, and Steven Gerrard needs to find a way of winning ugly next season if a European push is on the cards, but itβs hard to say Palace did not deserve their late equaliser.
A Gallagher free kick was initially dealt with by Tyrone Mings, before a Guehi flick on from the second phase found an unmarked Jeffrey Schlupp. The former Leicester man, who will not have fond memories of Villa Park after he was on the end of an infamous tackle from Ciaran Clark in an FA Cup fixture in 2015, stole in between Cash and Buendia to provide a tap-in to draw his side level.
Whilst Villa conjured up a late onslaught, Jack Butland was in fine form to earn his side the point. A draw was the right result between two evenly matched sides who are jostling for places in the congested middle portion of the league. Vieira has rightfully earned a lot of plaudits this season for the rebuild he has overseen, and so his opposite number Steven Gerrard will ultimately be pleased to have taken four points off the talented young Eagles side this season.
In truth, it was one of those days where the match was just an insignificant footnote on a day of celebration. The day rightfully belonged to the players who delivered the most prestigious trophy in European football to the West Midlands.
Rival fans may mock the pride that Aston Villa fans have for that incredible group of people at the club in that golden era, but the truth is, any fan, anywhere should be proud of their achievements and of their heroes.
There should be no limit placed upon what you can and cannot be proud of, nor should there be a timescale placed on what should be championed. If this was the case we would not hear of the defensive behemoth that was Stan Cullis in that great Wolves side of the 1950βs, or the indomitable goal scoring machines Jeff Astle and Cyrille Regis, and fans would certainly not care for the four-goal debut of a ludicrously gifted 16-year-old wonderkid called Trevor Francis either. If you cannot celebrate the chaps who paraded the European Cup through the streets of Birmingham, then who can you celebrate?
So it was so wonderful to see the greats of 1982 being given the adoration and adulation that their exploits deserve. Many clubs have spent hundreds of millions, even billions, only to fall agonisingly short of what Tony Bartonβs side managed. Unfortunately, the Villa family have lost some greats in recent years, and not all of that iconic squad are still with us, so that makes days like Sunday all the more important and all the more poignant.
Alongside Sundayβs festivities, the 1982 triumph will be celebrated across various platforms, not least the highly-anticipated BT Sport documentary βSuper Villansβ which will air on 18th May, whilst fans will also want to keep their eyes peeled for some exclusive UTV Podcast content in the coming days.
AUTHOR | JOEY MILLINGTON
Authorβs UTV PODCAST archive Joey Millington | UTV Podcast | An Aston Villa Blog
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