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 took the point just 10 minutes later, when Youri Tielemans hit a weak stinger through traffic, set up by player of the season candidate Ollie Watkins (his thirteenth assist). Liverpool temporarily counter-attacked and took the lead again in the 23rd minute after Cody Gakpo scored from close range after Martinez intervened first to deny Joe Gomez. Jarell Quansah doubled the credit with his first PL goal in the 48th minute, but the scoring opportunities were far from over, so to speak, on either side.
First, in the 52nd minute, Leon Bailey allowed Watkins to go home, but long video revealed Bailey was offside an inch or two near midfield. It was then Liverpool who were denied via VAR after Luis Diaz rushed in and set up Mohamed Salah. for a touch, again, offside by the narrowest margin. The Reds had the idea that they had ended the game 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 was Liverpool’s goal again, in Duran’s thigh, through a scorching ball from Moussa Diaby, spinning in the air over Alisson while the backdrop of Villa Park was still anything but unbridled and with jubilant limbs. .
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 (ACL Torn – Offseason), Emiliano Buendia (ACL Torn – Offseason), Tyrone Mings (ACL Torn – Offseason), Jacob Ramsey (Foot), Morgan Rogers (Thigh) | QUESTIONABLE: Alex Moreno (Other), Youri Tielemans (Senior), Nicolo Zaniolo (Other)
OUT: Joel Matip (torn ACL – out for the rest of the season), Thiago Alcantara (groin) | QUIZ: Diogo Jota (hip)
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