Aston Villa have missed out on the Champions League for next season following a 2-0 defeat to Manchester United in the Premier League final matchday, MySportDab reports.
The Villans went into the game sixth on the table and needed all three points to stand a chance of finishing in the top five.
Meanwhile, Chelsea had to lose against Nottingham Forest before the Unai Emery-led side could qualify for Europe’s top tier.
On the other hand, United had only their pride on the line heading into the match.
Coming at the back of the Europa League final loss to Tottenham Hotspur, the Red Devils needed victory at least to end their gruelling campaign on a good note.
It was a strongly contested tie in the first half. Villa matched the hosts’ pace with a good spell of possession and were pushing hard to find the opener.
United also gave a good account of themselves, contesting for possession and making forays forward.
Proceedings were largely balanced with both sides putting up formidable performances from the start.
However, the game took a drastic turn in United’s favour when Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez saw a red card.
This led to Marco Asensio being subbed off to make for another goalkeeper. United dominated proceedings going forward given their one-man advantage but were unable to find the back of the net.
The first half ended goalless with United emerging as the better side.
The second half began with United staying atop of proceedings but were struggling to break through the visitors’ defence.
In the 72nd minute, a costly error by Altay Bayindir led to Aston Villa finding the back of the net.
However, the goal was chalked off after a VAR check for a foul against the United goalkeeper.
Meanwhile, United finally found the back of the net through Amad Diallo’s header from Bruno Fernande’s pass.
Christian Eriksen also scored from the spot in the 84th minute to double the lead. It ended with United winning 2-0 after the final whistle to doom Villa’s bid for a UCL spot.
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