Aston Villa's forgotten man Savo Milosevic became a hero on a night of Eurodrama at Villa Park. The Yugoslavian international has endured a topsy-turvy time since his £3.5million move from Partizan Belgrade just over two seasons ago - with more downs than ups.

But the man dubbed Savo `Miss-al-ot' during his turbulent career in the Midlands lifted his flagging career out of the doldrums. The torment of Trabzonspor in 1994 and the horror of Helsingborgs last season - both defeats on the away goals rule - were forgotten as Villa, and Milosevic in particular, made amends with a win against Bordeaux.

Manager Brian Little's side dominated the opening 90 minutes, with Milosevic up front alongside rejuvenated Stan Collymore, and Dwight Yorke playing just behind the front two. However, there were few clear-cut chances.

In extra time, Villa opened up against a Bordeaux defence which had been superbly marshalled by sweeper Paulo Gralak. Goalkeeper Ulrich Rame, who had been given little to do in the opening hour-and-a-half, suddenly found himself the busiest man on the park.

Milosevic looked to have blown his chance of glory in the 97th minute when Collymore's bullying of Nisa Saveljic saw a loose ball run for the Yugoslav, but his attempted chip was superbly blocked. Another drive, this time on his right foot, was aimed straight at Rame, while skipper Gareth Southgate curled a shot narrowly wide.

Collymore, whose harrying and hastling had put Bordeaux under pressure throughout the game, was then denied by Rame after a double blast in the 109th minute before the long-awaited breakthrough came two minutes later.

Collymore fed sub Gary Charles wide on the left and the sub, on for Fernando Nelson at the half-time break of extra-time, delivered a low cross for Milosevic to stab home his first of the season from six yards ahead of stunned defender Saveljic.

Villa's victory was also due to Australian keeper Mark Bosnich, who was the first-half hero with three dynamic saves in the space of eight minutes as Bordeaux threatened to kill the tie stone dead early on.

Villa's rearguard had come under fire both on and off the pitch in recent matches. After conceding five goals in their previous two Premiership matches, the defence looked wobbly early on, and it was Bosnich to the rescue.

Villa weathered the storm and then proceeded to control the game, in particular through Collymore, slammed by Villa fans in the local papers and radio phone-ins, who appeared stung by the criticism and showed more bite and menace, finally looking a £7million player. His venom and running was appreciated by the Villa faithful throughout the game.