Aston Villa and Liverpool starred in one of the matches of the season on Monday, as two of the (probable) 4 Premier League groups en route to the Champions League battled it out for the Champions League, scoring nine goals (six of them scored), and leaving the enthusiasts and neutrals hunting absolutely exhausted at the final whistle.
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The result puts Aston Villa (68 points) five points ahead of Tottenham, who will now have to win their final two games (Manchester City and Sheffield United), plus Villa’s loss to Crystal Palace on Sunday, in order to borrow fourth place. Unai Emery’s full-back also adds more intrigue to the PL name race, as a win would have secured fourth place and given Spurs very little at stake when they host Man City on Tuesday (3pm). ET).
There were just 60 seconds left for Liverpool to take the lead and Emiliano Martinez looked for the pitch to open up and swallow it completely. Liverpool broke down the right flank and Harvey Elliott headed in a cross into the box, slightly deflected by Pau Torres running to protect his goal, which put Martinez off a bit and caused him to mishandle the ball as he fell backwards. Out threw the ball backwards and Martinez towards his own goal.
Aston Villa were ahead just 10 minutes later when Youri Tielemans threw a weak sting into traffic, set up by Player of the Season candidate Ollie Watkins (his 13th assist). Liverpool fought back temporarily and took the lead again in the 23rd minute after Cody Gakpo attacked from a narrow diversity after Martinez intervened first to deny Joe Gomez. Jarell Quansah doubled the lead with his first goal in PL in the 48th minute, but the scoring opportunities were far from over, so to speak, on both sides.
First, in the 52nd minute, Leon Bailey allowed Watkins to go home, but a lengthy video revealed that Bailey was offside an inch or two near midfield. Then it was Liverpool who were denied through VAR after Luis Diaz rushed in and set up Mohamed Salah. for a touch, again, offside by the narrowest margin. The Reds thought they were game over in the 87th minute, not even two minutes after Jhon Duran fired an arrow into the back corner to make it 3-2. , however, Darwin Núñez was also penalized for offside, this time with a little more clarity.
A minute later, the ball returned to Liverpool’s goal, on Durán’s thigh, thanks to a searing ball from Moussa Diaby, which flew through the air over Alisson, while the Villa Park background was still nothing unbridled, jubilant members. The Premier League at its finest.
Aston Villa currently have eight more goals than Spurs, meaning they will likely only need a point against Palace this weekend to secure Champions League qualification. Jurgen Klopp will try to say goodbye to Liverpool and Anfield with a win over Wolves.
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Scorers: Emiliano Martínez (2′ – OG), Youri Tielemans (12′), Cody Gakpo (23′), Jarell Quansah (48′), Jhon Durán (85′, 88′)
Martinez – Konsa, Carlos, Torres, Digne – Luiz, Tielemans, McGinn – Bailey, Diaby, Watkins
Alisson – Alexander-Arnold, Quansah, Van Dijk, Gomez – Endo, Mac Allister, Elliott – Salah, Diaz, Gakpo
Start: 3 p. m. ET MondayTV Channel: USA NetworkOnline: Watch live online NBC. com
OUT: Boubacar Kamara (Torn ACL – off-season), Emiliano Buendia (Torn ACL – off-season), Tyrone Mings (Torn ACL – off-season), Jacob Ramsey (foot), Morgan Rogers (thigh) | QUESTIONABLE: Alex Moreno (Other), Youri Tielemans (Senior), Nicolo Zaniolo (Other)
OUT: Joel Matip (torn ACL – out for rest of season), Thiago Alcantara (groin) | QUIZ: Diogo Jota (hip)
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