Earlier this year, English Goal named Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as the best super reserve of all time at Manchester United. The Norwegian sat loyally on the bench and waited for the sign from Alex Ferguson. The United manager knew he had the striker who could be used at any time during the game to turn around and decide the game in United’s favor. At the same time, the dilemma was: if Solskjaer is deployed from the start, United will lose the extra gear with Solskjaer on the pitch in the closing minutes. Aston Villa manager Unai Emery is now in a similar situation.
When Aston Villa sent the RB Leipzig players into the shower with a bitter home loss, it was a 20-year-old who came in as a game-changer. Jhon Duran came back off the bench in the second half, scored and helped decide the game. We had a real flashback to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in the oversized United shirt, when he repeatedly came cold from the bench and took few minutes to score.
The 20-year-old Duran has scored 6 goals as a substitute this season. In total, the striker has scored 10 goals during his 790 minutes on the pitch so far this season. Against Leipzig, the 20-year-old needed seven minutes to send Villa into the lead with a fantastic goal.
With six goals as a substitute, Duran is the highest-scoring substitute in the biggest European leagues this season.
After the Champions League game, Villa supporters threw themselves over the keyboard and posted messages demanding that Emery choose Duran over Ollie Watkins from the start.
Understandable reaction from the Villa supporters, but at the same time Emery must remember how Sir Alex deliberately used his super reserve Solskjaer as the element of surprise in the latter part of the game.
We therefore encourage Emery to turn the pages back in the history book before clearing space for the 20-year-old Duran in the starting eleven.
