Aston Villa

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Unai Emery was full of praise for 20-year-old substitute Jhon Duran after he scored two late goals to stage a perfect comeback against Liverpool at Villa Park.

After earning another crucial point in their bid for Champions League football next season, Emery said: "He is very young - 20 year old. His potential, it is impossible to predict how far he is going to get.

"I believe in him. It is different football in Colombia. Tactically, the football is very different in the Premier League.

"We are working with him a lot. I know he is going to score, get chances and use his power.

"His potential is clear, but we need to manage him as a young person.

"But today I am very happy with how he helped us, because this is the consequence - we drew."

Duran joined Aston Villa from Chicago Fire in January 2023 for a fee of £18m, becoming Emery's second signing at the club.

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Former midfielder Ian Taylor says Aston Villa fans are "pinching themselves" as the club closes in on a Champions League place.

"18 months ago you would have never ever seen this coming," Taylor said talking on BBC Radio 5 Live Breakfast.

Villa drew 3-3 with Liverpool on Monday to edge closer to Champions League qualification, an achievement many have put down to the influence of manager Unai Emery.

Taylor says Emery is "absolutely unbelievable" and Villa are "really lucky to have him".

"Villa fans are just enjoying the ride at the moment, we had the disappointment last week in the Conference League but we've got an amazing prize now ahead of us that would set us up for the near future," Taylor said.

Villa scored two late goals to come back from 3-1 down to draw with Liverpool on and speaking about on the match Taylor said: "What a game - we showed some amazing character.

"To concede an early goal in the first half and an early goal in the second half, many teams would've crumbled against Liverpool but we kept going and got our rewards in the end.

"If we had our shooting boots on - we could've won that game."

Taylor continued his praise of Emery and said: "The turnaround since he came in has been unreal. We've only made a couple of signings.

"He doesn't mention the injury situation. We've had as many injuries if not more than a lot of other teams who have been complaining.

"We are limping over the line but the character in the team has been unbelievable."

You can listen to the whole interview from 1:25:52 here

We asked for your views on Monday's 3-3 draw between Aston Villa and Liverpool.

Here are some of your answers.

Aston Villa fans

Jon: Nervous and just lacking that killer instinct in front of goal. Emi's mistake totally stunned the crowd and we were left bewildered! However, the two goals from Duran Duran sent the crowd wild! Great game.

Gary: A side playing almost on memory. They were dominated by Liverpool and got pretty lucky. All of the brilliant work has been put in before now.

Theo: Good result in the end, but defensively we weren't at it. I think if Tielemans stayed on we'd have won, but fair play to Chambers and Duran for changing the game. Even more credit to Unai Emery for making the changes to get back into the game. Onto Palace and let's secure Champions League football!

Marco: We showed a lot of nerves tonight right from the off. We've looked exhausted and with a pile of injuries I didn't think we would get anything from this or the Palace game but credit to the Villa boys, it could have ended 6-6.

Liverpool fans

Paul: Heavy metal football - exciting, intense, attractive for sure, but trophies is what counts and at the end of this nine-year love affair, one Premier League, one Champions League and an FA cup is the same as what City did last season. Defence is key and to concede 44 goals in a season is not acceptable. In the 1978-79 season we conceded 16 in 42 games!

Will: Another unconvincing display. On top for long periods and then losing control by making wrong choices. Allison is too casual with the ball at his feet allowing opponents to pressurise him and rush poor passes out to defenders giving them problems. Making four subs at the same time - same as against Spurs - proved once again to break our rhythm. Not great.

David: Liverpool played the last 20 minutes with the Euros and the beach in mind - scared of getting injured and not wanting to give 100% effort. Villa upped their game and Liverpool didn't want to respond. Once again, Salah played with very little interest or desire. Played like a man who knows his time is up at Liverpool. Roll on next season.

Ray: Yet another game where Klopp's substitutions have made the team worse. It's a worrying trend that started during the United cup game. Both sides great going forward but woeful defensively and they're supposedly the third and fourth best teams in the league.

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Aston Villa boss Unai Emery to Sky Sports: "We are very proud of the season. It is not enough at the moment to get fourth. We are going to prepare for the match on Sunday against Crystal Palace. Even after we scored the two goals we had chances. We are celebrating the season here with our supporters in Villa Park.

"We are only thinking of us. We will prepare for our match on Sunday - everything is in our hands.

"Jhon Duran is a special player. We have to try to help him. He is a good guy and he needs a team behind him. He is getting our demands better. He was very clinical and today was important for him.

"We are celebrating with our supporters. We have to push it and keep working and be consistent. We were consistent all the season. The team was being mature and always consistent in our mind. Inch by inch, we did it."

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Aston Villa captain John McGinn, speaking to Sky Sports: "It's a brilliant effort towards the end. We got a bit of luck. It's been a tough few weeks with lads coming back and playing through the pain barrier. This place got us going.

"Big Jhon [Duran] is a bit nuts at times. He's a nightmare to play against.

"There's some of us who have never been close to the Champions League in our life. The manager has a no-excuse mentality. People have written us off and we've floated under the radar.

"We'll have our Man City tops on tomorrow."

The pick of the facts and figures after the thrilling draw between Aston Villa and Liverpool on Monday.

• Emiliano Martinez's own goal after 61 seconds was the earliest scored in a Premier League game since Antolin Alcaraz put the ball in his own net after just 54 seconds for Everton against Southampton in April 2014, while it was the earliest away goal Liverpool have scored in the competition since May 2011.

• It was Martinez's third own goal in the Premier League - the most by a goalkeeper in the competition.

• Liverpool have conceded two or more goals in four consecutive league games for the first time since April/May 2014. Indeed, only between February and April 1999 have the Reds had a longer such run in the competition.

• Ollie Watkins has provided 13 assists in the league this season, more than any other player. Indeed, only Ashley Young (14 in 2007-08) has provided more assists for Villa in a Premier League campaign.

• The Reds have now scored 140 goals this season, making it their second-highest-scoring campaign after 2021-22 (147).

Aston Villa staged a dramatic late comeback against Liverpool at Villa Park to earn a vital point in the race for fourth place in the Premier League.

Villa could have confirmed Champions League football for the first time with victory and there was a carnival atmosphere before kick-off as Hollywood legend and celebrity supporter Tom Hanks addressed the crowd.

Unai Emery's side looked to be leaving the door open for rivals Tottenham as they trailed 3-1 with five minutes left but two goals from substitute Jhon Duran snatched an unlikely draw.

The early party mood was punctured inside two minutes after a horrendous error by goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, who somehow fumbled Harvey Elliott’s deflected cross into his own net in front of a stunned Holte End.

Villa responded when Youri Tielemans powered home an equaliser after 12 minutes but Liverpool restored their lead as they cut the home defence wide open, Cody Gakpo tapping in Joe Gomez’s cross.

The home side looked tense but still created chances, Diego Carlos and Moussa Diaby both guilty of glaring misses as they pressed for an equaliser.

Liverpool made Villa's task even harder when they extended their lead three minutes after the interval, young defender Jarell Quansah towering above Lucas Digne to score his first Premier League goal.

Substitute Duran set up a grandstand finish when his low shot beat Alisson with five minutes left then Villa Park went wild as Diaby's shot deflected in off the striker.

Villa are still in pole position to reach next season’s Champions League and will hope reigning champions and title favourites Manchester City can aid their cause when they play top-four rivals Spurs on Tuesday night.

Were you at the ground or following along from home?

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Follow all the reaction here

The line-ups for Aston Villa against Liverpool are in, with less than an hour to go before kick-off at Villa Park.

Follow all of the build-up here

David Michael
Fan writer

It has been a frustrating past week for Aston Villa as they aimed to finish off their season in style.

The decision to rest Pau Torres, despite the suspension of Emi Martinez, in the first leg of their Europa League Conference semi-final, contributed to Olympiakos being able to dismantle Villa and effectively seal the tie at Villa Park.

The preparations for the second leg did not go well either.

With Tottenham recently losing four straight games, Villa could have already potentially locked in Champions League football for next season if they had not let recent home matches slip away.

After winning their first nine home games of the season, they have only won three of the nine that followed.

Unable to rest players in the Brighton game, which was sandwiched between the two legs against Olympiakos, they lost Morgan Rodgers to injury, further depleting the squad.

Nevertheless, in Greece, Villa still fielded a formidable first XI, only two players shy of the team that had beaten both Manchester City and Arsenal within a week. Although Boubacar Kamara and Youri Tielemans were absent, their places were filled by Villa’s record signing Moussa Diaby and Matty Cash.

The duo allowed Villa to switch to three centre-backs, aiming to be solid defensively and hopefully clinically pick their moments in attack.

While Villa have had a very strong season, defensive errors have ultimately held back their full potential.

A perfect example came in Athens when, after just 10 minutes, sloppy defensive marking shattered their comeback plan and final dreams.

If Unai Emery can address these defensive shortcomings in pre-season, then there is room for this Villa team to further improve next term.

David Michael can be found at My Old Man Said, external

Mark Mitchener
BBC Sport Senior Journalist

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The Premier League title now cannot be decided until the final day of the season but one or two other issues could be settled in midweek.

Aston Villa can clinch the fourth and final Champions League place if they beat Liverpool on Monday.

If they draw, they’ll be sure of fourth place if Tottenham fail to win against Manchester City on Tuesday.

If they lose, they’ll be sure of fourth place if Tottenham lose on Tuesday.

In all other scenarios, it goes to the final day.

Whatever their situation with Villa, Tottenham can ensure a top-five finish (so Europa League at worst) if they avoid defeat against Man City on Tuesday.

If they lose to City, Spurs could still clinch fifth place before their final game if Newcastle AND Chelsea both fail to win on Wednesday.

Newcastle and Chelsea know that whatever they do on Wednesday, they cannot be absolutely sure of European football until the final round of fixtures. However, goal difference means that should Newcastle beat Man Utd, and Chelsea lose at Brighton, it would take a minimum 12-goal swing on the final day for the Magpies to be deprived of sixth place.

Chris Sutton is making predictions for every Premier League game this season against a variety of guests.

For this weekend's matches, he takes on Kasabian frontman Serge Pizzorno.

Sutton's prediction: 2-2

Aston Villa need one win from their last two games to be sure of fourth spot. I am not sure they will get it here but they probably won't need it, because Spurs are not going to catch them now.

I am not convinced by Liverpool either, but they always create chances and there should be a few goals in this one.

Serge's prediction: 2-1

It is tough to call because Villa are so good at home but then you have got the Jurgen Klopp factor with him only having a couple of games left as Liverpool boss. I do have a feeling Villa's home support will help them edge it though, and it could be one of those nights where the Holte End sucks the ball into the net.

Read all of the predictions here

Image source, PA Media

Jurgen Klopp's penultimate match as Liverpool manager is against Aston Villa at Villa Park, a ground where his team has had contrasting fortunes in recent seasons.

The Reds scored two late goals to seal a memorable win there during their 2019-2020 title-winning season, although they were thrashed 7-2 at the same venue 11 months later.

Manchester City's victory at Fulham on Saturday ended Liverpool's slim hopes of winning the Premier League this season, but Klopp has said there is still plenty for his team to play for against a Villa side that will qualify for next season's Champions League if they win.

"We have the chance to go above 80 points again and for that we need to win one of the two games at least," said the German.

"Aston Villa is the next chance. It's the last home game of the season for Aston Villa - they want to have a good last home game because they have played an incredible season. This year Europa Conference League, next year Champions League - Unai [Emery] is doing an incredible job there and is one of the best we have in the business. Wherever he [has been], he had success.

"We all know how important it is for a club to qualify for the Champions League and how difficult it is to do that."

Image source, Reuters

Captain John McGinn wants manager Unai Emery to remain at Aston Villa "for many years to come" following an outstanding first 18 months in charge at Villa Park.

The Spaniard has led Villa to the Europa Conference League semi-final and the brink of Champions League qualification, which will be secured if they can beat Liverpool at home on Monday.

Emery recently signed a new deal that will keep him at the club until 2027.

"We would love him to be here for many years," said Scotland midfielder McGinn. "I have three years left at the moment. He has three years left himself so hopefully he can be here for many years to come.

"But he wants success and does not want to stop short at semi-finals or fourth place. He wants more than that. That is the sort of manager you want to play under."

Monday's Premier League game will be Jurgen Klopp's penultimate match in charge of Liverpool and McGinn respects his achievements at Anfield.

"They [Klopp and Emery] are certainly slightly different but both of them are up there with the best managers in the world," added McGinn.

"The league has been very lucky to have Klopp. He has obviously got an identity and a really strong team. He will be missed in the league, definitely."

Pep Guardiola is on course to guide Manchester City to a fourth straight top flight title for the first time in English football history but would it be enough to earn him the Premier League's manager of the season?

Former City midfielder Michael Brown tells The Football News Show why that achievement should see the Spaniard win the award ahead of Aston Villa's Unai Emery.

Watch The Football News Show on BBC iPlayer

Mike Taylor
BBC Radio WM reporter

The "Road to Athens" as Uefa branded this season's Europa Conference League tournament, ended in the wrong part of the district.

More accurately, we might say that it really ended in Birmingham last week, when Villa missed the chance to take charge of the tie. Unai Emery would have expected Olympiakos to be well coached to protect that lead by his compatriot Jose Luis Mendilibar, and so it proved.

Everything looked right. Villa needed a large share of possession and commandeered the ball from the very start. All the systems were working smoothly. But the home team, motivated by their loud support, filled in all the spaces and left no cracks.

With their own first attack, they scored a goal that made the process look infuriatingly simple, as if Villa had built a computer to decipher the security code on a door, and Olympiakos had just leaned on it.

They might have anticipated a final Villa surge after half-time, but when it didn’t appear, there was a perceptible shift in the atmosphere. The VAR check on the final goal was a technicality; it was all over anyway, and both teams knew it.

All is not lost. Perhaps Villa will finish fourth in the Premier League and reach the premier European competition, without scoring another point - maybe without even lacing up their boots if Tottenham fail on Saturday.

So be it. However Villa clinch it, fourth place would still be a deserved reward for remarkable progress. After more than a decade without European football, this time they will be away for only a few months.

However, there is a final lesson to draw from the successive defeats by Brighton and Olympiakos. Villa have some players who are a match for any in their position. You cannot get this far so quickly without them. The problem is there are not quite enough.

Yes, Villa had half a team missing this week. Injuries happen, though, and the replacements have to be strong enough to keep up the level - not only when players are hurt, but when the top-liners need to take a break now and then.

The statistics of the work done by Villa's stars this season are clear - there were too many big games when Emery needed them all on duty, with no rest.

The next stage of their development is not about quality - it is about depth, which does not come cheap.

And, I am afraid, that might mean we are all going to learn more about the financial regulations this summer.

Aston Villa are interested in signing 30-year-old Atletico Madrid and Mozambique left-back Reinildo, but they face competition from Manchester United. (Sun), external

Want more transfer news? Read Friday's full gossip column

Here are the key facts and figures before Monday's game between Aston Villa and Liverpool in the Premier League.

• Aston Villa have won just one and lost 10 (D1) of their last 12 Premier League games against Liverpool. Their one victory was a 7-2 win at Villa Park in October 2020.

• Liverpool have won more Premier League away games against Aston Villa than they have vs any other opponent (16). Only against Newcastle and West Ham (35 each) do they have more wins overall than against Villa in the competition (33).

• Aston Villa lost 1-0 against Brighton last time out - and they have not lost consecutive Premier League games since May last year (1-0 vs Manchester United and Wolves).

• Liverpool have only lost one of their last 26 Premier League games in May (W19 D6) and are unbeaten in their last 18 since a 1-0 loss at Chelsea in 2018 (W15 D3).

• Only against Brighton (6) has Ollie Watkins scored more Premier League goals than he has against Liverpool (5). His next goal will be his 20th in the league this season – the last Aston Villa player to score 20+ in a top-flight campaign was Peter Withe in 1980-81 (20).

• Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah has both scored and assisted in four different Premier League games this season. Only Cole Palmer has done so more often (5). Salah has done it 31 times overall in the Premier League - with only Wayne Rooney (36) and Thierry Henry (32) doing so more.

We asked for your views on Thursday night's match between Olympiakos and Aston Villa in the Europa Conference League semi-final.

Here are a selection of your comments:

Colin: Villa were poor. The damage was done at Villa Park. I don't think we win another game, our season is over. Fourth or fifth, it's been a great season and up the Villa.

Mark: The team have looked jaded for a while. Injuries, depleted squad, too many games in a short space of time. Will probably limp over the line with Champions League qualification. Let this not deter from an unbelievable season. Top four in the Premier League and Europa Conference League semi-finalists - who knows what we could have achieved without serious injuries to Buendia, Mings, Kamara and Ramsey?

Mossy: A game too far in the end. To turn up to a European semi-final with a bench full of youngsters didn't bode well. No excuses over the two legs, we were not good enough, but as a squad Villa are really down to the bare bones now. The long season has really had its toll on us. I just want them to get over the line now and get fourth spot.

Rob: I am so proud of this team. For a team with no European experience to get to the semi-final and still compete at the top of the Premier League is nothing short of miraculous. It's good experience for next season that Newcastle never had.

Keith: Congratulations to Olympiakos for winning, but Aston villa were miles of the pace in both matches. If we are to compete in European competition next season we have to be more aggressive and clinical in the final third and manage the games better. Just put it down to lesson's learned.

Former Aston Villa striker Peter Crouch talking to TNT Sports: "Unai Emery has done an incredible job. He mentioned that they're a club in a process, but they look like a team that's really well coached.

"If they do get Champions League football, the level goes up a little bit more and the players can take on the experiences that they've had in this campaign."

On Friday, UK papers carry news of Villa's Europa Conference League exit on their back pages. The iPaper calls the Olympiakos defeat a "Greek tragedy" while the Express says Unai Emery's team were "flat".

And Villa captain John McGinn reflected on defeat in the context of a successful season overall: "It won't take it away, but tonight our instant reaction is to be gutted. We all wanted to be back here [in Greece] playing the final but Olympiakos gave it everything, played out of their skin in both legs and overall the scoreline proves that they were the better team.

"We'll reflect, there's a lot of things we could have done better, but over the course of the season there's a lot of things to be proud of.

"We need to apologise to the supporters who travelled. We so badly wanted to win a trophy for them, we all wanted it so badly. We need a big push in the final two games to get us over the line for the Champions League which would be an astronomical achievement.

"Tonight the feeling is that it's an opportunity missed but congratulations to Olympiakos and we wish them all the best in the final."