Boubacar Kamara doubled Aston Villa's lead
Boubacar Kamara doubled Aston Villa's lead
The race for Champions League qualification will go down to the final day for Aston Villa after they beat Tottenham 2-0 on Friday night.
Ezri Konsa broke the deadlock on the hour mark before Boubacar Kamara doubled the lead in the 73rd minute.
Spurs have a Europa League final to look forward to on Wednesday and didn’t lay a glove on Villa in the second half, despite threatening at stages in the first.
Villa were in fourth place at the time of their win, before Chelsea scored and then beat Manchester United at Stamford Bridge in the later kick-off last night.
Here are the talking points from Villa’s win…
Winning was the only way
After losing late on against Manchester City, Villa had to win their final four games of the season.
Beating Fulham and Tottenham were always going to be their 'easier' tests at fortress Villa Park, while Bournemouth would provide the sternest test. A trip to Old Trafford awaits next, which is never going to be easy either.
Villa were excellent at the Vitality Stadium and reduced Bournemouth's their threat until Jacob Ramsey was sent off late on.
Like the win over Spurs, only another victory will do against United on the final weekend of the campaign.
The first half against Spurs was not a great watch for a neutral, but going into the break, few fans would've felt pessimistic about Villa’s chances of scoring at least once at the Holte End.
Ange Postecoglou didn’t even name his best three defenders in his squad - Micky van de Ven, Cristian Romero, and Destiny Udogie - while Pedro Porro was on the bench.
With Konsa’s goal came a sigh of relief from all four stands at Villa Park, before Kamara’s was met with a brilliant celebration from Unai Emery.
The Villa boss knew that a two-goal lead would be too much for Spurs to overturn, considering they were concentrating on the final as the game wore on at Villa Park.
“Very happy,” Emery said after full-time. “We won and we are on a run but still have work to do. We have to be ready and be consistent.
“We finished the season here with our supporters and our energy and our wishes to be in Europe. We still have chances to play in the Champions League.
"They [Spurs] competed well and did a fantastic job. We were consistent, demanding and when we scored the first goal, they gave up. Good luck to them in the final.
"We needed to manage the 90 minutes and we worked it out fantastically. We are being demanding at this moment. We can get the Champions League, fantastic.
"We are wishing to continue in the season we are doing. We are now in a good moment. We try to play well and in our best moments. Some players are enjoying it now.
"We are going to continue in our plan. We will work tomorrow and have Sunday and Monday off."
Martinez and Bailey's tears
Despite the crucial victory, most fans leaving the stadium would have been talking about Martinez’s body language at the full-time whistle.
The goalkeeper stood at the edge of his box for a few minutes before Robin Olsen and then coach Javi Garcia came over to congratulate him on the win and a clean sheet.
But Martinez, with his hands on his hips, was taking it all in, looking around the stadium.
He then made his way toward the middle of the pitch to clap the Holte End, but before he did, he had to wipe his eyes after shedding tears.
Martinez slowly made his way down the tunnel, clearly upset, as he waved to fans in the lower North Stand and Trinity Stand.
There is strong interest in Martinez from clubs in Europe and Saudi Arabia, but despite being offered a lucrative contract to join a Middle Eastern club, it is unclear whether he’d be willing to move away from European football this summer.
Leon Bailey is expected to leave Villa in the upcoming transfer window.
He, like Martinez, was also visibly upset after playing what was likely his final home game at Villa Park.
Bailey looked emotional as he came onto the pitch, and then after full-time, he dropped to his haunches and brushed the turf for around 20 seconds.
It spoke volumes that both were so upset after the game. Emery was asked if they could leave this summer and said: “I don’t know. We will see.”
Asensio was much-improved
Everything positive about Villa’s first half came through either John McGinn or Marco Asensio.
McGinn, despite starting on the bench against Bournemouth last weekend, has been showing his best form of the season in recent weeks.
His intensity in the first 20 minutes of the game was not matched by most of his teammates.
Asensio, meanwhile, showed real quality in the final third to pick the lock of a Spurs defence that looked relatively comfortable aside from the Spaniard’s ingenuity.
Since missing two penalties at Southampton, Asensio has been poor in and out of possession, lacking the confidence he showed early on in his loan spell under Emery.
But on Friday night, not only did he show flashes of quality, the positions he picked up between the lines also helped Villa unlock the Spurs backline.
Asensio played his part in the goal too, as his long-range ball towards McGinn was brought down by the Scot, before Ian Maatsen’s effort flew wide for a corner after being blocked. Konsa then broke the deadlock from the following set-piece.
Where the land lies...
Chelsea's win over United was a big one for them, but the Blues aren't in the clear yet.
When he sat down for the start of his press conference, Emery quickly went on his phone to check the score.
He said: "Chelsea 1-0? It's okay. We expected it. It is not in our hands."
Now, let’s get down to business…
The only way Champions League qualification would be in Villa’s hands on the final day of the season is if Bournemouth defeat Man City at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday night.
If not, Villa will need a favour from either Fulham or Nottingham Forest on the final day. Everton could also help by stopping Newcastle from winning at St James’ Park - though the Magpies will guarantee finishing above Villa if they defeat Arsenal on Sunday.
The most likely permutation that will help Villa into the top five is if they win at Old Trafford and Chelsea fail to beat Forest.
Forest, for their part, will likely need to beat West Ham away on Sunday to stand a real chance of finishing in the top five.
Villa need the Reds to stop Chelsea from winning, so Nuno’s side pulling off a result in the capital this weekend would in fact be useful.
Claret & Blue verdict
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