Aston Villa 4-2 Liverpool - Match Stats & Timeline

Aston Villa will be playing UEFA Champions League football next season after thrashing Liverpool 4-2 at Villa Park on Friday night.

It was a fairly cagey and even first half with both sides knowing three points would see them avoid any final day drama, but the hosts took the lead just before the interval as a superbly worked move ended with Morgan Rogers curling an effort into the far corner.

Another set-piece goal was scored just minutes after the restart as Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk just about stayed onside and headed home a free-kick to equalise.

While many would have expected Arne Slot's side to go on and dominate proceedings, it was Villa who regained the lead as Rogers capitalised on a Dominik Szoboszlai to set up Ollie Watkins and he slotted home.

Unai Emery's side were the dominant team thereafter and they extended their advantage as Ollie Watkins prodded home to make it 3-1 on 73 minutes.

The icing on the cake came just minutes from time as captain John McGinn unleashed a stunning strike into the top corner in front of the Holte End to give the home fans the perfect send-off ahead of an exciting trip to Istanbul.

Van Dijk did score a consolation in stoppage time, but the champions have endured a disappointing defence to their Premier League title and will have to beat Brentford next weekend to guarantee UEFA Champions League qualification if Bournemouth continue their excellent recent form and defeat Manchester City on Tuesday night.

As for Aston Villa, they can head into their UEFA Europa League final against SC Freiburg on Wednesday night full of confidence after this display and comfortable with the fact they will be playing in Europe's top tier competition once again in 2026/27.

Aston Villa v Liverpool Timeline

39' - Yellow card for Matty Cash.
42' - GOAL! Aston Villa. Scored by Morgan Rogers, assisted by Lucas Digne.
45+3' - Yellow card for Ollie Watkins.
46' - Victor Lindelof replaced by Ross Barkley for Aston Villa.
52' - GOAL! Liverpool. Scored by Virgil van Dijk, assisted by Dominik Szoboszlai.
57' - GOAL! Aston Villa. Scored by Ollie Watkins, assisted by Morgan Rogers.
62' - Yellow card for Joe Gomez.
66' - Yellow card for John McGinn.
66' - Joe Gomez and Ryan Gravenberch replaced by Florian Wirtz and Federico Chiesa for Liverpool.
73' - GOAL! Aston Villa. Scored by Ollie Watkins.
74' - Cody Gakpo replaced by Mohamed Salah for Liverpool.
85'' - Emiliano Buendia replaced by Ian Maatsen for Aston Villa.
89' - GOAL! Aston Villa. Scored by John McGinn, assisted by Ollie Watkins.
90' - John McGinn replaced by Jadon Sancho for Aston Villa.
90+2' - GOAL! Liverpool. Scored by Virgil van Dijk, assisted by Dominik Szoboszlai.

Aston Villa v Liverpool Match Stats

Aston Villa	4-2	Liverpool
45.2%	Possession	54.8%
1.91	Expected Goals	1.52
14	Shots	15
9	Shots on Target	5
3	Goalkeeper Saves	5
12	Fouls Committed	9
3	Corners	8
358	Completed Passes	424
11	Successful Tackles	7
24	Clearances	13
3	Yellow Cards	1
0	Red Cards	0