Unai Emery hails 'special player' after Jhon Duran sparks dramatic Aston Villa comeback
Unai Emery called Jhon Duran a "special player" after the 20-year-old came off the bench to score twice in the 3-3 draw against Liverpool, which secured a point for Aston Villa in their pursuit of Champions League football.
Villa found themselves 3-1 down shortly after the break as Jarrell Quansah headed in Harvey Elliott's free-kick. And after Ollie Watkins' goal was chalked off by VAR with Leon Bailey called offside, the game appeared to be petering out.
Duran, however, had other ideas and scored twice at the Holte End in the 85th and 88th minute to complete a dramatic comeback.
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"Jhon Duran is a special player," Emery told Sky Sports. "We have to try and help him. He is a good guy and he needs a team behind him. He is getting our demands better. He was very clinical and today was important for him."
Emery continued: "We are very proud of the season. It is not enough at the moment to get fourth. We are going to prepare for the match on Sunday against Crystal Palace.
"Even after we scored the two goals we had chances. We are celebrating the season here with our supporters in Villa Park. We are only thinking of us. We will prepare for our match on Sunday, everything is in our hands.
"Today we are celebrating with our supporters, we have to push it and keep working and be consistent. We were consistent all the season. The team was being mature and always consistent in our mind. Inch by inch we did it."