BIRMINGHAM, England (AP) — Ollie Watkins scored two goals and had another disallowed as Aston Villa set itself up nicely for next week’s Europa League final with a 4-2 win at home against Liverpool on Friday.
The win also guaranteed Villa a place in next year’s Champions League.
The win just five days before Villa faces Freiburg in the Europa League decider means Unai Emery’s side ensured a top-five finish in the Premier League.
"It’s a great performance and a great way to end the season at Villa Park,” captain John McGinn told broadcaster Sky Sports “We’ve just made this club a Champions League club again, and it allows us to be excited and enjoy the game on Wednesday.
Liverpool was three points behind in fifth and still sweating whether it will make it into next year’s Champions League.
Liverpool had the better of the opening exchanges with Cody Gakpo seeing a goal ruled out for offside and Emiliano Martinez pushing away a swerving long-range effort from Dominik Szoboszlai.
However, Villa found its composure as the half went on and took the lead three minutes before halftime. Morgan Rogers placed a perfect right-foot shot beyond the reach of Giorgi Mamardashvili after a well-worked corner kick.
Virgil van Dijk’s header eight minutes into the second half brought Liverpool level but Villa started to dominate as the game opened up. Watkins had a goal chalked off for offside but made up for it just a few minutes later when he took advantage of a slip by Szoboszlai that set Villa free on the counterattack.
He added a third in the 73rd when he side-footed home from point-blank range after Mamardashvili made two excellent stops.
It was Watkins’ sixth goal in his last seven league games and he was a constant threat to a Liverpool rearguard that looked shaky every time Villa stormed forward.
“We’ve conceded far too many games, but we also haven’t scored enough goals," said Liverpool coach Arne Slot, who admitted his team lacked backbone after going behind in the second half.
"(After) the 2-1 we crumbled, we struggled. In the end made it 4-2, so they did not give up, but we struggled to control their pace, intensity and quality.”
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
Only subscribers can view and post comments on articles.
Already a subscriber? Login Here
Join us to watch the last California Governor's Debate on Thursday, May 14 at Round Table Pi… Read moreCalifornia Governor's Debate Watch
San Mateo Bonsai Club - Bonsai Show Read moreSan Mateo Bonsai Club - Bonsai Show
Join New York Times bestselling author Caroline Paul for a lively discussion of her book Tou… Read moreBook Club with Author Caroline Paul
Dirk van Ulden said:
Dirk van Ulden said:
Dirk van Ulden said:
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.