Aston Villa delivered one of their best performances of the season, thrashing Liverpool 4-2 in a thrilling, end-to-end encounter that ultimately secured their place back in the Champions League for next season.
Morgan Rogers timed his run perfectly and finished calmly to give the hosts a deserved lead in the 42nd minute of the game.
Liverpool responded strongly after the break. In the 51st minute, Virgil van Dijk rose highest to power home a header and level the scores. For a moment it looked like the visitors might seize control, but Villa refused to let the game slip away.
Just five minutes later, Ollie Watkins restored Villa’s lead with a clinical finish before adding a decisive third in the 73rd minute. Watkins was electric all evening and added an assist in the 89th minute for John McGinn’s fourth goal for Villa that sealed the victory.
Even when van Dijk headed in his second of the match deep into stoppage time (assisted by Dominik Szoboszlai), it was little more than a consolation.
Liverpool head coach Arne Slot told the BBC after the game, “It’s not about me or how frustrated I am it’s frustrating for everyone involved – players, staff and definitely fans. Frustrating for players who came back and in football you can slip [Szoboszlai], but it’s so unfortunate. That is something that’s probably part of our season. We know what to do next week.”
Slot was referring to Szoboszlai’s costly slip that directly led to Villa’s third goal.
Following his decisive performance this evening, Watkins has accumulated 14 league goals and 3 assists in 36 appearances this season.
Liverpool must defeat Brentford on May 24 to reach 62 points and guarantee their Champions League spot, to stop Bournemouth—who have two fixtures left—from stealing the only remaining spot.
