Wigan Athletic still hold Aston Villa bragging rights but 2019 feels difficult to believe now: View | OneFootball

Wigan Athletic's 2019 victory over Aston Villa seems like a distant memory for both clubs, given their respective journeys since

League One Wigan Athletic and Champions League Aston Villa currently seem worlds apart, but just shy of six years ago, the clubs locked horns in the Championship.

The evening of Wednesday 2nd October saw Villa make a triumphant return to their proudest glory days, as they defeated Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich 1-0 on home turf, thanks to Jhon Duran's impressive, chipped effort which evaded Germany legend Manuel Neuer.

Just one night before, the Latics were delighted to defeat Peterborough United 3-0 in League One, a result which ended a run of three consecutive 0-0 draws for Shaun Maloney's side in the third tier.

Wigan beat Villa in their last meeting

Trips to grounds such as Wigan's Brick Community Stadium may seem like a distant memory for Villa fans, who have the glamour of a Champions League tie in Monaco to look forward to in January.

And the Villa Park faithful have good reason to want to forget their last visit to WN5, as they suffered a 3-0 defeat at the hands of the Latics, then managed by Paul Cook on 12th January 2019.

The end of the 2018/19 season ultimately saw the West Midlands outfit promoted to the Premier League, as they defeated Frank Lampard's Derby County 2-1 in the play-off final at Wembley Stadium, while the Latics were satisfied to stave off the threat of relegation and land an 18th-place finish.

But when the two sides met on 12th January 2019, it was the Latics who outclassed their opponents and ran out as deserved 3-0 winners.

Frankly, when Anthony Pilkington waltzed past Neil Taylor and set up Gary Roberts who hammered the ball home to establish the lead for the hosts, it was Wigan who looked like a side who were competing for a Premier League spot, and Villa who played like a side who were trying to avoid the drop to League One.

And the Latics' superiority over Villa, albeit for one game only, was clearly displayed when a Michael Jacobs header and a Joe Garner penalty towards the end of the second half ensured Cook's men secured a 3-0 victory.

The Greater Manchester outfit have not met the West Midlands side since their Championship encounter in 2019, so Latics supporters can still claim bragging rights over the Villa Park faithful.

Latics and Villa have been on very different journeys since their last meeting

While match-ups between the two clubs were a regular feature on the Premier League calendar for many years, prior to the Latics' drop to the second tier in 2013, and Villa's subsequent relegation to the Championship in 2016, it now seems bizarre that it was Wigan who won the last fixture between the sides back in 2019.

The West Midlands outfit maintained their top-flight status after landing a 17th place spot at the end of a tricky 2019/20 season, but have not looked back since, and managed to become a comfortable mid-table side before challenging for the European qualification places.

Unai Emery's side have gone on to establish top-four credentials in the Premier League and could embark on an eye-catching Champions League journey, given the manager's taste for success in Europe.

In fact, Emery has four Europa League titles to his name, three of which arrived in back-to-back succession during his time as Sevilla boss, while his fourth came with fellow La Liga side Villarreal in 2021.

On the other hand, the Latics have been on a general downward trajectory since their last meeting with Villa, and suffered relegation from the Championship to League One in 2020, courtesy of a 12-point deduction imposed upon the club when they were in administration.

The Greater Manchester outfit survived the threat of extinction, thanks to the takeover completed by former owner Abdulrahman Al Jasmi in spring 2021, and won promotion back to the second tier in 2022.

However, during the 2022/23 Championship season, cracks began to show in Al Jasmi's ownership of the football club, and the Latics were subject to points deductions yet again, due to Al Jasmi's consistent failure to pay wages on time.

Eventually, Maloney's side were subject to a winding-up petition during the summer of 2023 but were rescued by current owner Mike Danson, who has instilled an ethos of financial sustainability at the Brick Community Stadium.

The Latics are currently enduring their second consecutive season in League One, while Villa are enjoying Champions League football and battling near the top of the Premier League.

The prospect of Wigan hammering the West Midlands side in the Championship seems an odd one now but is a reminder of how quickly things can change, for good or for bad.