Aston Villa vs Liverpool – Reds' UCL qualification shaky as Villans secure Champions League football

The Reds put themselves in a difficult situation after having entered the game in fourth place on the Premier League table.

Arne Slot's team needed one more win to secure their place in Europe’s biggest club competition next season.

However, the Reds were hammered by Aston Villa, who handed them a 4-2 defeat at Villa Park.

Unai Emery made three changes from Aston Villa's draw at Burnley despite having a Europa League final to look forward to on Wednesday.

For Liverpool, there was just one change with Joe Gomez coming in for Jeremie Frimpong. Mohamed Salah and Florian Wirtz are back on the bench.

Both teams went end-to-end in the first 20 minutes, with Liverpool getting the first goal, but it was ruled out for offside.

However, just before the half-time break, Aston Villa took the lead from a Morgan Rogers beauty, beating the goalkeeper.

Early into the second half, Liverpool had a free-kick, and Virgil van Dijk headed it in at the back post to restore parity.

Villa pressed forward immediately and restored the lead after Dominik Szoboszlai slipped, and Morgan Rogers was on hand to give Ollie Watkins the ball to slot home.

Watkins went on to extend Villa’s lead, making it 3-1, before John McGinn added the fourth with a beautiful curling effort. Van Dijk got one back for the Reds to reduce the deficit ti 4-2 on the night.

The loss saw Liverpool drop from fourth place to fifth place on the table, with their Champions League qualification now in jeopardy.

Despite the loss, Slot is still confident he will remain Liverpool manager next season.