Aston Villa beat Liverpool 4-2, secure Champions League qualification

Aston Villa defeated Liverpool 4-2 at Villa Park on Friday, securing a top-four finish and a spot in next season’s Champions League thanks to a brace from Ollie Watkins and a stunning late goal from John McGinn.

The victory lifted Villa to fourth place with 62 points from 37 games, leapfrogging Liverpool, who remain on 59 points from the same number of matches.

Liverpool’s defeat leaves them vulnerable to being overtaken by Bournemouth and Brighton in the race for a Champions League berth, as they collected just one point from their last nine available and suffered their 12th loss of the season.

Morgan Rogers opened the scoring for Villa in the 42nd minute, and Virgil van Dijk equalized for Liverpool early in the second half before adding another in stoppage time.

But Watkins’ double and McGinn’s brilliant fourth goal secured the win for manager Unai Emery’s side, who now head into Wednesday’s Europa League final against Freiburg in buoyant mood.

“We had to get over the line,” McGinn told Sky Sports. “It allows us to be excited and enjoy Wednesday properly.”

“[Watkins] was obviously disappointed in March [being left out of the England squad] but if it gave him a kick up the backside, he’s certainly responded in the best way.

“We’re so fortunate to have him, what he’s done for this club the past few seasons has been incredible. Hopefully, he can carry that into next week.”

Villa travel to Istanbul for the Europa League final with one of their major season objectives already achieved, and the chance to lift silverware to cap the campaign.

The hosts took the lead against the run of play when Lucas Digne found Rogers in space on the left side of the box, and the forward curled the ball into the far corner.

Liverpool leveled in the 52nd minute when Van Dijk headed home at the back post from Dominik Szoboszlai’s free-kick, and 17-year-old winger Rio Ngumoha struck the base of the post from the edge of the box shortly after.

But a slip from Szoboszlai presented Watkins with the second goal for Villa, and Emiliano Buendia struck the Liverpool post with a curling shot as the hosts pressed for another.

Watkins then netted his second with a close-range rebound, making it 3-1.

McGinn curled in a beautiful shot to extend the lead to 4-1 in the 89th minute, before Van Dijk’s second headed goal gave the scoreline some respectability.

Liverpool manager Arne Slot said he felt no added pressure after the defeat but acknowledged his side are conceding too many soft goals.

“It’s not about me, it’s about us being disappointed with the result,” Slot told the BBC. “I spoke yesterday on it [my future] and that’s enough.

“Our focus is on the Brentford game [next weekend] and making sure we earn the support of the fans by starting the game aggressive and well.”

Villa scored four times on Friday but could have had more as they sliced through Liverpool’s defense repeatedly.

“We have conceded a lot of goals this season, which you’d find hard to believe unless you live it and that’s what we did today,” he said.

“Villa were the better team and the game went away from us.”