Aston Villa secured Champions League football for next season with a thumping 4-2 victory over Liverpool, Ollie Watkins scoring twice and setting up another as Unai Emery's side sealed a top-five Premier League finish with a game to spare. Morgan Rogers and John McGinn supplied the other goals on a night when the visitors were carved open at ease.
After the final whistle the Champions League anthem blared over the speakers at Villa Park, an emphatic full stop on a performance that exposed the blind spots of Arne Slot's meek title defence. For Liverpool, who fell to another defeat, Champions League qualification remains undecided and the race could go to the final day depending on results elsewhere.
A Cagey Opening at Villa Park
It was a relatively quiet first half, but Villa always looked the more likely to break the deadlock. Watkins tested Giorgi Mamardashvili inside 90 seconds, and Villa had another sight of goal when the goalkeeper hastily surged from his area and Rogers snatched the ball. Liverpool's first effort, courtesy of Joe Gomez, sailed over the bar.