Aston Villa beat the mighty Bayern Munich 1-0 in the 2nd round of the Champions League, which ended in midweek, thanks to Duran's long-distance shot. After the match, Villa midfielder Morgan Rogers was interviewed by the media, commenting on the big game and looking ahead to Villa's home match against Manchester United in the 7th round of the Premier League on Sunday.
Rodgers said, "We had a magical night at Villa Park and I hope there will be many more like it. The whole game was special, not just the goal. To walk into that atmosphere, I've never experienced anything like it. Even the away games I've been to, they probably don't compare to this, especially when the fans are on your side. It was an unforgettable night that I will remember for the rest of my life, no doubt about it."
On Tulane's goal, Rodgers commented, "That goal was really special, but that energy, that buzz coming from the crowd ...... fans have really been behind us. There's nothing better than that, when you have 40,000 people behind you cheering you on, that's what you play soccer for. I love soccer and want to show what I can do on a stage like this. I want to embrace it and enjoy it and I think I did that tonight."
Villa showed a tenacious defense in this game and Rodgers said, "We did a good job of limiting Bayern. We had a game plan and knew they would have a lot of the ball and dominate, which they did. But I think we did our best to neutralize their threat and try to counterattack and cause problems for Bayern. Maybe we could have done better, but we ended up scoring and winning the game. That's what we deserved."
Looking ahead to Sunday's Premier League game against Manchester United, Rodgers said: "Hopefully we won't be too depleted, but we're really out of energy at the moment and I'm tired! We'll be ready for Sunday though and as always, we believe we can win this game. The opponent is Manchester United, one of the biggest teams in the world. I like this kind of game, it's the kind of game you want to play. This week we play two important games at home and we will be 100% ready for Sunday's clash."
Rodgers added: "We've only lost one game this season and that's obviously a belief. We step out on the pitch and believe in ourselves and have confidence in each other. You can see how well we've done since the start of the season. We'll give it our all against Manchester United on Sunday and try to continue the winning momentum."
Morgan Rogers, 22, has made eight appearances for Villa this season, starting all of them, and scoring one goal and dishing out two assists. He has been highly regarded for his performances and has become an important part of Villa's midfield.
