Liverpool suffered a 4-2 defeat to Aston Villa on Friday night, with the Reds potentially needing a result in their final Premier League game of the season against Brentford to secure Champions League football
Paul Gorst
07:29, 16 May 2026Updated 07:34, 16 May 2026
Joe Gomez in action during the Aston Villa defeat
Joe Gomez in action during the Aston Villa defeat(Image: Liverpool FC, Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
Joe Gomez has conceded that Liverpool were their own worst enemies during Friday night's 4-2 defeat to Aston Villa.
The Reds suffered their 12th Premier League loss of the season as Unai Emery's side overtook them in fourth place to seal their spot in next season's Champions League.
Having seen Virgil van Dijk cancel out Morgan Rogers' first-half opener, Ollie Watkins netted twice before a spectacular John McGinn strike made it 4-1 in the dying stages. Captain Van Dijk nodded home a second late on, but it amounted to little more than a consolation on a deeply disappointing evening for the champions.
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The result leaves Arne Slot's side potentially requiring a positive outcome at home to Brentford next Sunday in the final fixture of the campaign, and Gomez spoke candidly about his frustrations after lining up at right cener-back at Villa Park, reports the Liverpool Echo.
"We cost ourselves a big opportunity today," the defender told LFCTV. "We know that. It sums up our year, with it being in our hands and errors that are avoidable at pivotal points in the game where we could have got momentum.
"At the end of the day, it's still in our hands (qualifying for the Champions League), the goal remains the same. We've just got to do the job next week now.
"It felt that we had control. It's just frustrating because it's lapses in concentration. Something that's highlighted, we know: they're great at set-pieces.
"They've got a reputation for doing routines and doing things outside the box, and we knew that. We had to be focused.
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"It's fine margins in the Premier League and that adds to it [the frustration]. It is what it is now, we can't sit here and feel sorry for ourselves, we just have to do the job.
"We know what we have to do next weekend and we have to beat Brentford at home."
Gomez added: "It's a long week. Obviously we've got a lot of injuries but we've got to band together. We know we have to give the supporters something to support in how we play and how we approach the game.
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"Hopefully we end the season on a positive note – that's the goal. That goal doesn't change from today and we know what we have to do."