Aston Villa secured their Champions League spot after beating Liverpool 4-2 at Villa Park on Friday.
Liverpool dominated proceedings in the first half, but Morgan Rogers gave Villa the lead against the run of play before the interval.
Virgil Van Dijk levelled the scores early in the second half. However, Villa responded positively, with Ollie Watkins scoring a brace, and John McGinn sealed the victory with a brilliant strike.
Van Dijk scored in stoppage time, but it was not enough to prevent Villa from recording their first league victory over the Reds since 2020/21.
The Villans have now climbed to fourth in the standings, moving three points clear of fifth-placed Liverpool and seventh-placed Bournemouth.
What Villa victory means for the Champions League race
The result means Villa can no longer finish outside the top five, securing their Champions League berth for next season.
It also means that the Premier League can no longer field six teams in Europe’s elite club competition, even if Villa beat SC Freiburg in next Wednesday’s UEFA Europa League final.
Liverpool, Bournemouth and Brighton & Hove Albion will now compete for the last Champions League qualification spot.
However, Bournemouth and Brighton have to beat Manchester City and Leeds United to drag the race into the final day. They trail Liverpool with four and six points respectively.
Even with the defeat at Villa, the Reds’ still hold the advantage in the race for the last Champions League berth.
Victory over Brentford at Anfield on the final day would confirm qualification for the competition, regardless of Bournemouth and Brighton’s results.
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Despite their poor form, only four teams have collected more points at home than Arne Slot’s side. They have also won their last nine league home games against Brentford.
That said, Bournemouth and Brighton have tough fixtures to contend with and are not guaranteed to get maximum points.
The Cherries face City before traveling to Nottingham Forest on the last day, while the Seagulls are away at Leeds United on Sunday, before hosting Manchester United in their final fixture.