Aston Villa is ready for the Europa League final against Freiburg. On Friday evening, the Villans thrashed Liverpool FC 4-2, thereby securing their Champions League spot.
On the penultimate matchday, Aston Villa and Liverpool FC faced off in a head-to-head clash with both teams level on points. The winner would have secured qualification for the Champions League once and for all. For the Birmingham club, it was also the dress rehearsal for the Europa League final against SC Freiburg.
Villa coach Unai Emery made three changes to his starting lineup following the 2-2 draw against Burnley: Buendia, Digne, and Pau started in place of Mings (not in the squad), Barkley, and Maatsen (both on the bench).
Visiting coach Arne Slot also made a change following the 1-1 draw against Chelsea, though only one: Gomez started in place of Frimpong. Wirtz (back from illness) and Salah initially took their places on the bench.
Rogers punishes Liverpool’s lapse in concentration
The home side started more actively, applying pressure in the opening quarter of an hour. Time and again, it was Watkins who created danger, but he failed to reward himself or Villa (2nd, 8th, 11th). It had taken a while, but Liverpool gradually woke up and began to seize possession. However, the Reds could only muster attempts from outside the box, and both Gomez (21st) and Nguomoah (25th) failed to find the net.
During this brief period of pressure from LFC, Villa survived another potential goal, which was immediately ruled out by the linesman due to Gakpo being offside (27th), as well as another long-range attempt by Szoboszlai (31st). The home side had another good chance before halftime following a corner—and Unai Emery’s team capitalized on it: After a nice move, Rogers curled the ball into the far corner (42nd minute).
Watkins and van Dijk score twice
Just as the game had ended on a high note with the goal before halftime, it started with a bang after the restart: Liverpool struck first, equalizing through van Dijk’s header off a free kick (52′). Villa appeared visibly unfazed afterward, although they were lucky not to concede a second goal to Nguomoah (57′). Instead of sitting back, the home side simply kept pushing forward.
One player picked up where they left off in the opening phase: Watkins capitalized on Szoboszlai’s mistake and slotted home easily to make it 2-1 (57′). The fact that the Englishman didn’t score a brace right away was solely down to Mamardashvili, who came out on top in a one-on-one situation (59)
But Watkins was virtually unstoppable that evening: Shortly thereafter, the striker was in the right place at the right time and tapped in the rebound to make it 3-1 (73′). Just before the end, McGinn added to the lead with a fine curling shot into the left corner (89′), before van Dijk once again headed home to seal the final score (90’+2). However, that was little more than a cosmetic result, as the match ended just a few minutes later. Aston Villa thus secures a spot in the Champions League for the upcoming season, regardless of the outcome of the Europa League final.
On the final matchday this coming Sunday (5 p.m.), Liverpool will host Brentford FC to close out the season. Meanwhile, Aston Villa still has a say in the title race with their clash against Manchester City. Before that, however, the highlight of the season is set for Wednesday (9 p.m.): In Istanbul, the Villans will face SC Freiburg in the Europa League final.
