Aston Villa beat Liverpool 4-2 at Villa Park on Friday evening, sealing Champions League qualification through the league and sending supporters into the Istanbul week in exactly the right frame of mind. The game that looked like a distraction turned into the best possible preparation.
This week's My Old Man Said Post-Mortem opens with the moment that changed everything: the teamsheet. When Emery named the side that beat Nottingham Forest 4-0 in the European semi-final — essentially the expected starting lineup for Wednesday — the game instantly became something else. Not a Premier League fixture to be survived before the main event.
The version of Ollie Watkins that turned up against Liverpool needs to be sent First Class to Istanbul. The aggressive one who fires up the crowd from corners, gives teammates a dressing-down when they get something wrong, and is sharp in front of goal. The version Villa supporters have been asking for all season. He produced a brace and an offside goal that said as much as the goals that counted.
The main difference between the two teams was seen in the attitude of Alexis Mac Allister compared to John McGinn - one was cheaply rolling around feigning injury, while the other gave everything in a commanding performance.
Champions League football is now sealed for Villa and Istanbul is set up nicely. The mood is right. The squad is sharp and firing.
UTV
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