Aston Villa secured their spot in the 2026/27 UEFA Champions League in style on Friday night, with an emphatic 4-2 win over Liverpool in their final home outing of the season.
Ollie Watkins’ brace and a super strike from John McGinn capped off a scintillating second-half showing from Unai Emery’s men, as the Villans secured a first win over the Reds since the Spaniard took over as manager.
Morgan Rogers’ first-half peach had sent the hosts in at half-time a goal to the good, though Virgil van Dijk’s header restored parity seven minutes into the second half.
But striker Watkins notched his 18th and 19th goals of the campaign before McGinn bent home a fantastic late effort, securing only a second win over Liverpool in 17 Premier League games, and first since that unforgettable 7-2 triumph in October 2020.
The victory means Villa’s spot in the Premier League table’s top five positions is now secure, as they leapfrogged Arne Slot’s side into fourth place and secured Champions League qualification with one game to spare.
Emery made three changes to his side which was held to a 2-2 draw at Burnley over the weekend, as Emi Buendía, Pau Torres and Lucas Digne were all reinstated to the starting XI.
And, after a touching tribute to the late Benjamin Zephaniah in B6, the Villans took to the hallowed turf at their iconic home for the final time this season, and started much the brighter of the two sides.
Less than two minutes in, McGinn stole possession and led a Villa break, feeding Rogers who in turn found Watkins, but his instinctive snapshot on the spin was held by Giorgi Mamardashvili.
With eight minutes on the clock, Watkins created himself an even better opportunity to open the scoring, showing great footwork in the box to cut inside van Dijk from the left-hand side, but only proving able to bend his effort over when aiming for the top corner.
The defending champions, however, grew stronger as the opening period wore on, and their high press was both forcing Villa into errors and seeing the Reds dispossess them on a number of occasions to mount attacks of their own.
Lucas Digne
With 27 minutes on the clock, Arne Slot’s side thought they had the lead, when Emi Martínez could only parry Ryan Gravenberch’s effort from the edge of the area as far as Cody Gakpo who converted the rebound from close range, though did so from an offside position.
Just after the half-hour, the home stopper would be called into action again, as Dominik Szoboszlai lined up an effort from distance, but Martínez was alert to leap to his left and beat the ball behind, before Alexis Mac Allister headed over from a corner minutes later.
But as the break approached, the Villans rediscovered the zip and creativity with which they began the encounter, and after looking threatening on a couple of occasions, drew first blood three minutes before the break.
A corner was played short from Lucas Digne to McGinn, before the Frenchman – having been fed the ball back by Villa’s skipper – located Rogers inside the area. The England international got the ball out of his feet and bent a simply unstoppable effort into the far corner, giving Mamardashvili no chance in between the Liverpool sticks.
Rogers’ 10th Premier League goal of the season flew into the back of the net in front of a raucous North Stand, in the final game before summer renovations begin, to ensure Emery’s charges took a one-goal lead into the interval.
Morgan Rogers
The Reds sought an immediate response after the break, starting the second period the better of the two sides. And, within seven minutes of the restart, they had their equaliser. Szoboszlai bent a teasing free-kick delivery to the far post, where an unmarked van Dijk planted a header past Martínez and into the far corner to restore parity.
Just moments later, and Villa thought they had edged their noses back in front, when Watkins raced onto a long ball over the top, rounded Mamardashvili and finished into the empty net, though the assistant’s flag was up for offside.
And in an end-to-end start to the second half, it was then Liverpool’s turn to go close to a second, the lively Rio Ngumoha cutting inside and bending a well-struck effort off the foot of the post.
Butfrom then on, the game belonged the the Villans, and just five minutes after being pegged back, they were back in front as the hour mark approached, Rogers capitalising on a slip from Szoboszlai and feeding Watkins, with the striker making no mistake when one on one to send The Holte End into raptures.
Villa Park was well and truly alive, and Emery’s men had the wind in their sails. A breathless encounter continued to unfold with the hosts going close again, as a flowing, well-worked move ended with Emi Buendía cleverly finding Watkins inside the area, but Mamardashvili was this time out well to deny the frontman.
Ollie Watkins
The Villans were streaming forward at will, and remained firmly in pursuit of a third goal. Watkins wanted more, seeing another effort stopped by Mamardashvili at the front post after sharp thinking from Buendía to release Rogers from a quickly-taken free-kick.
The Argentine was another Villan enjoying himself in the second period, and was within inches of netting a beauty from the corner of the box, as his effort cannoned back off the crossbar. But the home side weren’t to be kept out for much longer on an electric night in B6, and 17 minutes from time, they had a deserved third.
A corner was clear as far as Tielemans whose half-volley from the edge of the box – and subsequent follow-up from Pau Torres – was beaten away by Mamardashvili, but the Georgian international could do nothing to prevent Watkins from turning home his 19th goal of the season, 11th in his last 14 games and eighth in 12 Premier League outings against the Reds from close range.
The closing stages approached with the Villans cruising, but there was still time for them to find a fourth goal. McGinn squared Milos Kerkez up on the left-hand side before curling an inch-perfect effort into the far corner from the edge of the box, as Villa Park celebrated booking their spot back among Europe’s elite.
The visitors did pull a consolation back in added time as van Dijk headed home his second of the evening, but it didn’t dampen the spirits of the B6 faithful, as the curtain was drawn at Villa Park for another season, with Aston Villa toasting a special, celebratory night.
Aston Villa: Martínez, Cash, Konsa, Torres, Digne, Lindelöf (Barkley 45'), Tielemans (Douglas Luiz 90'), McGinn (Sancho 90'), Rogers, Buendía (Maatsen 85'), Watkins
Subs: Barkley, García, Abraham, Sancho, Douglas Luiz, Maatsen, Bogarde, Bailey, Bizot
Liverpool: Mamardashvili, Gomez (Chiesa 66'), Konaté, van Dijk, Kerkez, Gravenberch (Wirtz 66'), Mac Allister, Jones, Szoboszlai, Ngumoha, Gakpo (Mohamed Salah 74')
Subs: Wirtz, Mohamed Salah, Chiesa, Robertson, Woodman, Nyoni, McConnell, Talla Ndiaye, Wright
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