Aston Villa battled back to secure a 3-3 draw vs Liverpool on Monday night, inching us closer to Champions League qualification.
An early Emiliano Martinez own goal was a real setback, but Villa responded well and Youri Tielemans soon drew us level on his return from injury.
READ MORE: What Unai Emery said in assessment of Villa’s thrilling 3-3 draw vs Liverpool
However, it wasn’t long before we fell behind for a second time, and with the visitors going 3-1 up just after half-time, concern was building over our ability to get anything from the game.
Fortunately, Jhon Duran came off the bench to score a brace and earn us a share of the spoils, and while we eagerly await the result of Tottenham’s clash with Manchester City now, it remains to be seen if Villa can secure fourth place and Champions League football next season in the coming days.
Huge momentum swing with spirited comeback
While it wasn’t the ideal result as a win would have sealed the deal for fourth spot, the manner in which Villa were able to claim a point could be crucial between now and Sunday.
Had we fallen to a disappointing defeat on such a big night at Villa Park, an already depleted and fatigued squad would have found it incredibly difficult to lift themselves again and try to get a win at Crystal Palace this weekend.
Instead, spirits are high as we produced a brilliant comeback to secure a point, and we can hopefully take that momentum with us into our last game of the season, if we are indeed needing a result to claim fourth place.
Jhon Duran shows his ability again
That’s now eight goals in 36 appearances for the 20-year-old Colombian international this season, as he showcased his quality and ability to make a fundamental impact.
His first goal was superbly taken, and although his second was certainly fortuitous, he still made a threatening run and put himself in a position to make an impact.
Emery has consistently challenged Duran to demand more from himself, to be consistent and earn a bigger role in his plans. It’s hoped that he heeds that advice and continues to develop into a pivotal figure for us next season.
Wasteful Villa must be more clinical
While the end result was a positive one, Villa were almost left to rue a wasteful performance as we lacked a clinical edge to our play, particularly through the first half.
Although the 3-1 deficit just after half-time would suggest otherwise, this was arguably one of our better performances in recent times as we played with energy and creativity, but our lack of quality in front of goal hurt us.
Whether it was the big miss from Diego Carlos or the lack of communication for the effort from Ollie Watkins that was ruled out for offside that cost us, we have to get back to being clinical in key moments, while shoring up the backline would be nice too.
Tielemans return reiterates his importance
In a significant boost before the game, Tielemans was named in the starting line-up after missing our last three outings due to injury.
Aside from his well-taken goal, the Belgian international was a key presence in our midfield with his quality and composure, and we’ve missed that from him in his absence.
He also has a knock-on effect for others too, whether that’s allowing John McGinn to play more advanced or for Douglas Luiz to have someone alongside him to set the tempo and dictate too, and so he really has proven to be a crucial signing this year.
Job almost done, not quite yet
Villa are almost there. McGinn joked about supporting Man City on Tuesday night, but failure for Tottenham in trying to win that game will see us clinch fourth place and Champions League football next season.
We’ve looked a spent force in recent weeks, as the injuries have taken their toll on us and those who have stayed fit, are almost running on empty given the increased workload that they’ve subsequently had.
While we’ll need to stay focused for Sunday in case we need a result, the players and Emery once again did us proud on Monday night in showing our character and quality to close in on what would be a sensational achievement.
