Barkley strikes late as Aston Villa down RB Leipzig in UCL

Ross Barkley scored late as Aston Villa beat Bundesliga side RB Leipzig 3-2 in Matchday 6 on the Champions League on Wednesday (AEDT) in Germany.

The EPL outfit took the lead in the third minute through Scottish midfielder John McGinn, only for Lois Openda to restore parity in the 27th minute after a blunder by Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez.

Colombian forward Jhon Duran scored a sensational long-range effort in the 52nd minute to put Villa back infront, but the determined German outfit drew level 10 minutes later through Austrian midfielder Christoph Baumgartner.

Barkley, however, came off the bench to score a sublime strike with five minutes left, securing three precious points on the road.

Victory propelled Unai Emery’s men to third on the table with 13 points, placing them in prime position to qualify for the UCL last 16 with games against AS Monaco and Celtic to come.

Meanwhile, Leipzig were eliminated from the Champions League after losing their first six games.

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Villa fans rallied behind their team, and Emery expressed his gratitude after the game.

“I’m very happy,” the Aston Villa manager said.

“The supporters were here with us and they were fantastic.

“They help us massively always in this competition and today as well, and we got those three points because we were feeling comfortable.”

Aston Villa will travel to the City Ground in the EPL this Sunday, and online bookmakers have them as slight outsiders at +176 to defeat Nottingham Forest (+166).

Leipzig will return to Bundesliga action on Monday, with leading sports betting sites paying +115 for them to beat visiting Eintracht Frankfurt (+219).

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