UEFA loophole & Aston Villa have just handed Newcastle United, Sunderland & Chelsea Champions League lifeline
Aston Villa 4-0 Nottingham Forest: Goals from Ollie Watkins, Emi Buendia and a John McGinn brace saw Villa progress to the Europa League final.
Aston Villa booked their place in the Europa League final and kept the Champions League dreams of half of the Premier League teams alive in the process.
Unai Emery’s side overturned a 1-0 first-leg deficit to Nottingham Forest to win 4-0 at Villa Park on Thursday evening and progress as 4-1 winners on aggregate. Ollie Watkins gave the home side a 1-0 lead in the first half before Emi Buendia scored a crucial penalty that was awarded by VAR.
John McGinn then wrapped up the tie in the closing stages with a quickfire double.
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Villa will face Bundesliga side Freiburg in the final, with the winners granted a place in next season’s Champions League. And this is where the Premier League sides come into it.
Aston Villa currently occupy fifth place in the Premier League, which will be granted Champions League football through a European Performance Spot, as Newcastle United did last season. Should Villa finish the season in fifth and win the Europa League, the European Performance Spot place would drop to sixth.
Aston Villa win opens up potential sixth-place Champions League spot
This opens up the potential of Champions League qualification for several other Premier League sides, including Newcastle.
The Magpies couldn’t finish fifth with three games left to play, but could still mathematically catch sixth place as they sit seven points behind current occupants, AFC Bournemouth.
Brentford, Brighton, Chelsea, Everton, Fulham and Sunderland could also still finish sixth with three games left to play.