Aston Villa beat Liverpool to secure a place in the Champions League.

On the morning of May 16th (Vietnam time), Aston Villa continued to write a memorable season under coach Unai Emery by defeating Liverpool 4-2 in the penultimate round of the Premier League, thereby officially securing a place in the UEFA Champions League next season in a fervent atmosphere at Villa Park.

John McGinn scored the winning goal in Aston Villa's 4-2 victory. (Photo: AVFC)

Goal
Aston Villa: Rogers (42'), Watkins (57', 73'), McGinn (89')
Liverpool: Van Dijk (52', 90'+2)

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Starting lineup
Aston Villa: Martinez, Matty Cash, Konsa, Torres, Digne, Tielemans, Lindelof, McGinn, Buendia, Rogers, Watkins.
Liverpool: Mamardashvili, Gomez, Konate, Van Dijk, Kerkez; Gravenberch, Curtis Jones, Mac Allister, Ngumoha, Szoboszlai, Gakpo.

Despite having only a few days left before the Europa League final against Freiburg, coach Unai Emery still fielded a nearly full-strength team against Liverpool. The Spanish strategist's decision quickly paid off as Aston Villa started the game proactively and created a fast-paced match.

In the opening minutes, Ollie Watkins rattled the Liverpool defense with a combination play with Morgan Rogers before unleashing a shot that forced goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili to make a save. A few minutes later, the English striker further worried the home fans when he fell painfully in the penalty area, but he was still able to continue playing.

Liverpool then gradually regained control of the game and managed to put the ball into the Aston Villa net when Cody Gakpo successfully scored a rebound after Ryan Gravenberch's shot. However, the goal was disallowed due to offside.

In a closely contested match, Aston Villa were the better team at capitalizing on their opportunities. In the final minute of the first half, following a short corner kick, Liverpool's defense continued to show a lack of solidity in dealing with set pieces, allowing Morgan Rogers to unleash a dangerous curling shot to open the scoring for the home team.

In the second half, Liverpool showed the character of a great team by quickly bringing the game back to a tie. From a free kick taken by Dominik Szoboszlai, captain Virgil van Dijk rose high to head the ball into the Aston Villa net, leveling the score at 1-1 for the visitors.

Coach Arne Slot's team even came close to taking the lead shortly afterwards when Rio Ngumoha's shot hit the post, and Cody Gakpo failed to capitalize on a rebound opportunity.

However, the turning point of the match came after a mistake by Szoboszlai in the midfield area. Aston Villa launched a quick counter-attack and Morgan Rogers provided a perfect through ball for Ollie Watkins to break free and calmly finish, restoring the lead for the home team.

After conceding the goal, Liverpool lost their defensive solidity. Aston Villa continuously exerted great pressure, and if it weren't for the outstanding performance of goalkeeper Mamardashvili, the visitors could have conceded even more goals.

Nevertheless, Aston Villa's relentless pressure finally paid off. Ollie Watkins completed his brace with a close-range rebound after a series of saves by the Liverpool goalkeeper. Not stopping there, captain John McGinn sealed the home side's impressive performance with a beautiful curling shot into the top corner of the net.

Virgil van Dijk's goal in the 90+2 minute, which reduced the deficit to 2-4, was merely a consolation goal for Liverpool.

Aston Villa's convincing victory over Liverpool not only secured them a place in the top five of the Premier League, earning them a spot in next season's Champions League, but also provided a huge morale boost ahead of their upcoming Europa League final in Istanbul.

This was also one of the rare occasions Aston Villa have beaten Liverpool in recent years, thus confirming their strong progress under manager Unai Emery.

Meanwhile, Liverpool cannot yet be completely secure in the race for a top-four finish in the Premier League. Arne Slot's team will have to wait for the result of the match between Manchester City and Bournemouth to determine their advantage before the final round of the season.

HUY AN

Source: https://nhandan.vn/da-bai-liverpool-aston-villa-gianh-ve-du-champions-league-post962545.html