Aston Villa back in Champions League as Watkins double sinks Liverpool

Aston Villa qualified for the Champions League in style after leapfrogging Liverpool with a stirring victory that exposed the blind spots that have undermined Arne Slot’s meek title defence. Ollie Watkins scored twice after Virgil van Dijk had cancelled out Morgan Rogers’ brilliant, curling opener before Villa’s captain, John McGinn, completed the rout from the edge of the box. Liverpool have now conceded a league-high 20 goals from set pieces this season, Rogers benefiting from a well-worked corner routine in the first half and Watkins in the second. For Villa, whose league form had been indifferent since the turn of the year, a confidence-inducing victory before Wednesday’s Europa League final.

On a sun-kissed evening at Villa Park, until Rogers’ beautiful strike approaching the interval it was impossible not to detect the end-of-season feel flowing through the veins of these sides during a flat and uninspiring first half. Unai Emery presumably expected more given he named a full-strength XI despite the prospect of Villa winning their first major European final in 44 years just a matter of days away. Liverpool welcomed Mohamed Salah and Florian Wirtz back to their squad but Alexander Isak, the former only capable of playing “only a few minutes”, and Jeremie Frimpong dropped out with minor issues, meaning Slot was without nine first-team players, a quartet of youngsters named on the bench.

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