Aston Villa Advent Calendar: Ángel opens his Villa account

The festive season is well and truly underway at Aston Villa and, to celebrate, we’re recounting some of the most famous and impressive goals scored in claret and blue.

Throughout the month of December, Aston Villa's Advent Calendar will reveal a goal which has been notched in Villa history by a player wearing the shirt number corresponding to the day of the month – every day up to Christmas Eve.

We'll be counting down to Christmas in style, championing some of the best-ever players to pull on our famous colours, and indeed some of the most iconic goals to have ever been scored for our famous club.

Opening the eighth window of the Aston Villa Advent Calendar on December 8, is Colombian frontman Juan Pablo Ángel...

After arriving at Villa Park for a club record £9.5m in January 2001, Ángel struggled to make quite the instant impact he might have hoped for in B6, taking a while to replicate the form he had demonstrated at River Plate which attracted Villa boss John Gregory.

However, after plugging away for the first few months of his career in claret and blue, the Colombian finally got his first goal for the club in the final home game of the season.

Midlands rivals Coventry City were in town, still with a chance of rescuing their Premier League status for another season. And, after future Villan Mustapha Hadji struck a first-half brace, it looked as though the Sky Blues might have pulled off something remarkable.

But the Villans rallied after the break, staging a memorable comeback which began just after the hour mark when Darius Vassell reduced the arrears.

Then, with nine minutes to go, Ángel opened his account for the club to draw his side level. Gareth Southgate stood up a brilliant ball to the far post, and there was the Colombian to chest down and lash a volley into the far corner to introduce himself to the Villa faithful.

Four minutes from time, a super, long-range strike from Paul Merson completed the turnaround for Villa, securing their eighth-place finish in the Premier League and relegating Coventry.

Enjoy it in all its glory below, and keep your eyes peeled throughout the month for the remainder of the Aston Villa Advent Calendar.