Aston Villa in European Cup after 13 years

In the final round of the Premier League, Aston Villa won 2-1 at Brighton to maintain seventh place ahead of Tottenham, thereby participating in the Europa Conference League next season.

At Villa Park, Aston Villa started brightly and led 2-0 after only half an hour. In the 8th minute, Jacob Ramsey crossed for Douglas Luiz to cross the ball past goalkeeper Jason Steele. In the 26th minute, Ollie Watkins doubled the gap from Jacob Ramsey's cross.

Watkins (left) celebrates scoring the second goal for Aston Villa against Brighton at Villa Park on May 28. Photo: avfc.co.uk

The hosts could not keep a clean sheet as Deniz Undav pulled one back late in the first half. However, the 2-1 win was enough to keep Aston Villa in seventh place in the Premier League with 61 points, one point clear of Tottenham.

Aston Villa qualified for the European Cup for the first time in 13 years. However, in the 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 seasons, they were eliminated in the Europa League play-off round. The last time Aston Villa participated in the European Cup group stage was in the 2008-2009 season, when they reached the round of 16 of the UEFA Cup - the precursor to the Europa League.

When Unai Emery was appointed in October 2022, Aston Villa were 15th and struggling with relegation. But after less than half a year, the Spanish coach helped the Villa Park team improve strongly and finish seventh, earning a ticket to the Europa Conference League qualifying round.

After beating Brighton, Emery was proud and considered participating in the European Cup an important achievement. He commented that the Europa Conference League is a tournament within Aston Villa's reach to win the championship because the club finds it difficult to compete in the Premier League, FA Cup or League Cup.

Coach Unai Emery directs during Aston Villa's 2-1 win over Brighton at Villa Park on May 28. Photo: avfc.co.uk

Meanwhile, the defeat at Villa Park did not affect Brighton's position. Coach Roberto De Zerbi's team finished sixth, joining Liverpool in the Europa League next season, thereby participating in the European Cup for the first time in their 121-year history.

The four Champions League spots go to champions Man City, Arsenal, Man Utd and Newcastle. At the bottom of the table, the three relegation spots go to Leicester, Leeds and Southampton, while the three promoted teams from the Championship are Luton Town, Sheffield United and Burnley.

In the final round yesterday, Tottenham won 4-1 at Leeds thanks to a brace from Harry Kane and goals from Pedro Porro and Lucas Moura. However, the "Rooster" could not compete for a ticket to the European Cup when they only finished eighth with 60 points.

Kane celebrates scoring in Tottenham's 4-1 win over Leeds at Elland Road on May 28. Photo: @SpursOfficial

Kane set a record of scoring ten goals in the final matches of the Premier League and reached the milestone of 30 goals this season, only behind the top scorer Erling Haaland with 36 goals. After the win over Leeds, the English striker refused to comment on the future and wanted to focus on the "Three Lions" team to play two Group C matches of the Euro 2024 qualifiers against Malta on June 16 and North Macedonia on June 19.

Hong Duy

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