Aston Villa for next season’s Champions League after Tottenham Hotspur’s 2-0 defeat to Manchester City.
The result leaves Aston Villa five points behind fifth-placed Tottenham with a game remaining.
The club will play in the Champions League for the first time since the 1982-83 season. Villa last qualified for the competition, then known as the European Cup, after winning the 1982 European Cup, beating Bayern Munich in the final.
– Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) May 14, 2024
Villa is confident Spurs would have to beat City on Tuesday to keep the race for last place in the Champions League alive before the final game of the season after going from a 3-1 draw to a 3-3 draw with Liverpool on Monday night.
Jhon Duran scored in the 85th and 88th minutes to keep a point for Unai Emery’s side and left Spurs needing as much trouble as possible against title-seeking City.
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But two second-half goals from Erling Haaland sealed a 2-0 win for City to keep their name on track and deny Spurs Champions League football.
Emery was appointed head coach of Villa in October 2022 and arrived from Villarreal to update Steven Gerrard.
Villa were 16th in the Premier League, two places and one point above the relegation zone when Emery took over. Under the Spanish coach, the club finished the season in seventh position and qualified for the Europa Conference League, making sure to play European matches. football for the first time in thirteen years.
In his first full season at the helm, Emery led Villa to the Champions League for the first time in years.
He was rewarded with a contract extension in April to stay at the club until 2027, with ambitious owners Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens keeping him in top regard.
Emery has already enjoyed a record in Europe, winning the Europa League 3 times with Sevilla and once with Villarreal.
Villa’s season began with a 5–1 defeat to Newcastle United on the opening day of the campaign, where they also lost defender Tyrone Mings to a season-ending anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury, before winning five of their next six opposite league games. to enter the European competition.
Wins over Arsenal and Manchester City in four days in December underlined their Champions League credentials and by mid-season, Villa were just three points off the Premier League’s best.
Despite failing to keep up speed with the league leaders in the second half of the crusade and then losing 4-0 to European rivals Tottenham in March, Villa remained in the Champions League places, notching an impressive win over Arsenal, while Spurs suffered costly defeats to Fulham. Newcastle and Chelsea.
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Striker Ollie Watkins has led Villa’s scoring charts with 19 goals in 36 league games and, combined with his thirteen assists, has the highest targets of any Premier League player this season.
Villa concludes its Crystal Palace season on Sunday.
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(Alex Pantling/Getty Images)