Birmingham, Oct 11 (IANS) Aston Villa striker Jhon Duran has won September’s Premier League’s Goal of the Month award for his sensational match-winning strike in the team’s dramatic 3-2 comeback victory over Everton.
Duran came off the bench and scored a 76th-minute long-range screamer that completed a turnaround from 2-0 down at Villa Park. The goal was so good that it stunned his teammates, with both Youri Tielemans and Emiliano Martinez holding their heads in disbelief.
Remarkably, it was the third time in four Premier League matches that Duran had scored a game-winning goal as a substitute.
After the goal, head coach Unai Emery said, “His potential is huge” while teammate and fellow striker Ollie Watkins said, “That is what he’s got in his locker, he has got a lot of ability. We have seen him score worldies before. If you back yourself to shoot from that far, why not?”
The 20-year-old Colombian won the award after his goal topped a shortlist of eight of the best which also included Harvey Barnes (Wolves 1-2 Newcastle), Bryan Mbeumo (Spurs 3-1 Brentford), Darwin Nunez (Liverpool 3-0 AFC Bournemouth), Riccardo Calafiori (Man City 2-2 Arsenal), Cole Palmer (third goal) (Chelsea 4-2 Brighton), Dwight McNeil (first goal) (Everton 2-1 Crystal Palace) and James Justin (second goal) (Arsenal 4-2 Leicester).
He is the first Villa player to win the accolade since Danny Ings claimed the August 2021 award for his scissor-kick against Newcastle United.
Duran, who this week signed a new contract at Aston Villa until 2030, will hope to continue his impressive goal-scoring season when Villa travel to Fulham on October 19.
Alongside Duran, it was Chelsea who completed the double when it came to individual awards as the Premier League confirmed earlier on Friday that Enzo Maresca has been named the PL Manager of the Month whereas Cole Palmer won the Player of the Month award.
–IANS
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