Liverpool’s woes deepen after Ollie Watkins scored twice to help them secure an emphatic victory at Villa Park.
Published May 16, 2026
Aston Villa secured a place in next season’s Champions League with a comfortable 4-2 win over Liverpool in the Premier League, with Ollie Watkins scoring twice as the visitors looked over their shoulders at the chasing pack.
Friday’s win moves Villa into fourth place with 62 points from 37 games, leapfrogging their opponents who have 59 points from the same number of games.
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Liverpool remain likely to be caught by both Bournemouth and Brighton in the race for Champions League qualification, with just one point from their remaining nine games, their 12th defeat of the season.
After Morgan Rodgers gave Villa the lead in the first half, Liverpool equalized early in the second period through Virgil van Dijk and added another in stoppage time.
But Watkins’ double and John McGinn’s superb second-half brace secured victory for Unai Emery’s side, who will head into Wednesday’s Europa League final against Freiburg on a positive note.
“I had to cross a line,” McGinn told Sky Sports. That way, we can be excited and enjoy Wednesday properly.
“[Watkins]was obviously disappointed[to be left out of the England squad]in March, but if that gave him an impetus to get into the backside, he definitely responded in the best possible way.
“We are very lucky to have him. What he has brought to this club over the last few seasons has been incredible and hopefully he can carry that over into next week.”
Villa have already achieved one of their big goals this season and head to Istanbul to take on Freiburg with a chance of winning silver at the end of the campaign.
Due to the flow of the match, the host team took the lead in the 42nd minute. Lucas Digne found Rodgers in space on the left side of the box and the forward curled it into the top corner.
Liverpool scored in the 52nd minute when Van Dijk headed home from Dominik Szoboszlai’s free-kick, and 17-year-old winger Rio Ngmoha hit the ball into the base of the post from the edge of the box.
But Szoboszlai’s slip gave Watkins a second goal for the home side, and just as Villa looked likely to score again, Emiliano Buendia curled a shot against the Liverpool post.
And it proved as Watkins scored his second goal with a rebound from close range.
McGinn made it 4-1 with a beautiful shot in the 89th minute, before Van Dijk’s second header added honor to the scoreline.
Liverpool manager Arne Slott said he did not feel any additional pressure after the defeat, but admitted his team conceded too many soft goals.
“That’s not my problem, it’s that we’re disappointed with the result,” Slott told the BBC. “I talked about it (my future) yesterday and that’s enough.
“We are focused on the game against Brentford (next weekend) and starting the game aggressively and well to ensure we win the support of the fans.”
Villa scored four goals on Friday but could have scored a few more as they sliced through Liverpool’s defence.
“We’ve conceded a lot of goals this season. You have to experience it to believe it, but that’s what we did today,” he said.
“The game went away from us because Villa were the better team.”
