Emery’s Villa make European return after 13-year wait
Unai Emery’s Aston Villa ended a 13-year wait for a return to continental action with a 2-1 win over Brighton & Hove Albion at Villa Park, securing a place in the UEFA Europa Conference League qualification stages and a seventh-place finish.
Brighton headed into this game full of confidence, despite the fact that they had already clinched a top-six finish and a spot in the UEFA Europa League for next season.
However, with Villa needing a win to guarantee seventh place and a place in the UECL qualification stages.
The hosts showed urgency from the start, taking a vital early lead in the eighth minute when Jacob Ramsey ran down the left to perfectly pick out Douglas Luiz inside the area, who side footed home with aplomb.
The goal also extended Brighton’s 53-year wait for a clean sheet at Villa Park.
The visitors rallied quickly and believed they had equalised in the 20th minute when Julio Enciso’s cross was turned in by Deniz Undav, but it was properly deemed offside following a swift VAR review, keeping Villa’s European hopes alive.
That scare for the hosts gave them a boost, and Villa extended their lead on 27 minutes when Ollie Watkins struck home into an empty net after yet another magnificent run and assist from birthday boy Ramsey.
Despite another VAR review, Undav would score his fifth goal in his past eight Premier League outings on 38 minutes when Pascal Gross set him up to equalise and keep the Seagulls in contention going into halftime.
Villa were not only vying for a place in Europe, but were also on track to win seven consecutive Premier League home games for the first time since February 1993.
With the pressure firmly on the hosts, they began the second half cagey and happy to play on the counter rather than leave themselves thin at the back. Despite trailing, Brighton were enjoying themselves and having made four second-half substitutions were seemingly happy to experiment rather than go all out for an equaliser.
The victory capped off Emery’s transformation of the Villans and signalled the return of continental competition to Villa Park for next season.
Meanwhile, despite the fact that the outcome is meaningless to the Seagulls, Roberto De Zerbi’s Brighton will now look forward to European competition after a fantastic season.
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