Aston Villa secured a 4-2 victory over Liverpool in the Premier League at Villa Park on Friday.
The hosts nearly went ahead inside two minutes when Morgan Rogers picked out Ollie Watkins, but Giorgi Mamardashvili denied his first-time effort.
At the other end, Joe Gomez attempted an ambitious long-range strike in search of his first professional goal, but his effort flew wide before Rio Ngumoha blazed his effort over the bar moments later.
In the 27th minute, Liverpool thought they had taken the lead after Ngumoha’s fierce effort was spilt by Emiliano Martinez into the path of Cody Gakpo, who converted the rebound only for the flag to rule it out for offside.
On the half-hour mark, the visitors continued to threaten as Dominik Szoboszlai aimed from a distance, but Martinez palmed his effort away before Alexis Mac Allister headed over the resulting corner.
Despite Liverpool’s spell of pressure, Rodgers fired Villa ahead in the 42nd minute with a superb finish following a cleverly worked short corner.
Seven minutes after the restart, Virgil van Dijk restored parity for the Reds after he met Szoboszlai’s free kick at the back post with a powerful header.
Moments later, Ngumoha came close to putting Liverpool ahead after weaving past Matty Cash and John McGinn, only to see his curling strike cannon off the post.
In the 57th minute, Villa retook the lead after Szoboszlai lost his footing, paving the way for Rogers to race clear and tee up Watkins for a close-range finish.
Moments later, Watkins had two chances in quick succession to add to his tally, though Mamardashvili was equal to both attempts.
In the 70th minute, Emiliano Buendia came agonisingly close to Villa’s third, curling a superb effort that struck the woodwork.
Three minutes later, Watkins struck again after Liverpool failed to clear a corner, with the Englishman finishing calmly from close range.
At the other end, Federico Chiesa went close to reducing the deficit, but his effort was kept out by Martinez.
On the stroke of full-time, McGinn completed the rout, curling a sumptuous effort into the top corner beyond the outstretched Mamardashvili.
In the second minute of stoppage time, Van Dijk grabbed his second goal, reducing the deficit after meeting Szoboszlai’s short-corner delivery.
The result confirms Champions League qualification for Aston Villa, while Liverpool will look to secure their own place when they face Brentford on May 24 to round off their top-flight campaign.