Aston Villa escapes defeat at Liverpool, moves closer to Champions League ticket

Down 1-3 until the 85th minute, but substitute Jhon Duran's double in the final five minutes helped Aston Villa hold on for a point at Villa Park. Unai Emery's team is currently fourth with 68 points, five points ahead of Tottenham. Aston Villa will officially qualify for next season's Champions League if Tottenham fail to beat Man City in today's round 34 make-up match.

A win over Man City would see Tottenham close the gap on Aston Villa to two points. They would still need to beat already relegated Sheffield United and hope Aston Villa lose at Crystal Palace in the final round to finish fourth.

The latest match of round 37 at Villa Park on May 13 took place with an eye-catching attacking game. Liverpool opened the scoring in the first attack in the second minute, when Harvey Elliott crossed from the right wing and hit center-back Pau Torres to change direction. 2022 World Cup champion Emiliano Martinez was startled and pushed the ball into his own net.

At 61 seconds, it was the earliest own goal in the Premier League since Antolin Alcaraz scored after just 54 seconds for Everton against Southampton in April 2014. It was also Martinez's third own goal in the Premier League - the worst record for any goalkeeper in the competition's history.

In the 12th and 23rd minutes, Youri Tielemans fired a cannon from outside the box to equalize, then Cody Gakpo tapped into an empty net to restore Liverpool's lead. These were the 1,195th and 1,196th goals in the Premier League this season, making it the second-highest scoring season in the history of the competition after the 1992-93 season with 1,222 goals.

In the 48th minute, Elliott took a free kick for center back Jarell Quansah to head the ball across the corner, hitting the post and into the net, leaving Martinez rooted to the spot. After that, both teams continued to squander good chances and the difference only came in the 85th minute. After losing the ball right in front of the penalty area by Alexis Mac Allister, substitute Jhon Duran shot low with his left foot into the far corner, reducing the score to 2-3.

Three minutes later, Moussa Diaby broke through the middle and passed the ball, which hit Duran's thigh and changed direction, causing Alisson Becker to miss. Duran scored the third goal and became the first substitute to score a brace against Liverpool in the Premier League since Leroy Sane (Man City) in September 2017.

On May 19, Liverpool will return to Anfield to face Wolves in their final match under Jurgen Klopp.

Line-up

Aston Villa: Martinez, Digne, Torres, Carlos, Konsa, Tielemans (Zaniolo 65, Duran 79), Diaby, Luiz (Chambers 80), McGinn, Bailey, Watkins.

Liverpool: Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Quansah, Van Dijk, Gomez, Endo (Szoboszlai 76), Elliott (Gravenberch 75), Mac Allister, Salah, Gakpo (Nunez), Diaz (Jones 76).