A day without too many shocks ended with a bitter outcome for Emiliano Martínez. His team, Aston Villa, missed on the hour the victory he was getting at Anfield against Liverpool. The 1-1 draw, in a match corresponding to the penultimate date of the Premier League, left the Birmingham team out of the positions that give classification to the next edition of the Europa League, but with chances to get into the Conference League.
In his 35th meeting this season of the English league (he only missed in the two games after the World Cup in Qatar), the 30-year-old from Mar del Plata spent 80 minutes without having to wallow, although in that period he showed his usual solidity when conjuring each center that fell in his area.
If the goalkeeper of the Argentine national team had little work in almost the entire duel it was because Liverpool, who came to this commitment backed by a streak of seven wins in a row in the domestic tournament, showed a rather blurred version and only reacted when defeat seemed certain.
The team led by the Basque Unai Emery, who in his last performance had beaten Tottenham 2-1, took advantage of that pallor of his rival, especially in the first half, in which he went ahead on the scoreboard in the 27th minute with a goal from Jacob Ramsey, after a center from the right of the Brazilian Douglas Luiz. A while earlier, their striker Ollie Watkins had missed a penalty.
In the complement, the local, without Jürgen Klopp on the bench (the coach was suspended for two games for having questioned the integrity of referee Paul Tierney after his team's victory against Tottenham, on April 30), was a little more enthusiastic, but had serious difficulties to transform that momentum into good play and risky maneuvers.
Only in the last minutes did the alarm sound at Anfield and Liverpool threw themselves against Martinez's goal (he had already received a yellow card for delaying). In one of those attacks, he equalized with a goal from Roberto Firmino. The Brazilian said goodbye in the best way to the stadium in which he shone for the last eight seasons: his club has already informed that it will let him leave when the season ends and his contract expires.
With this draw, Aston Villa, who had Emiliano Buendía on the field the last 25 minutes, reached 58 points and jumped to seventh place displacing Tottenham, who earlier lost 3-1 to Brentford and stayed with 57. While Brighton & Hove Albion also has 58 points, it has two games less: Alexis MacAllister's team will host relegated Southampton on Sunday and will face leaders Manchester City on Wednesday in a pending match of the 32nd day.
Therefore, surely the sixth place, which gives passage to the Europa League, and the seventh, which delivers a ticket to the Conference League, will be resolved on the last date of the tournament between Aston Villa, which will receive Brighton & Hove, and Tottenham, which will visit Leeds United.
For its part, Liverpool, which has 66 points, has already secured a place in the Europa League and retains a minuscule chance of snatching fourth place from Manchester United (69) and thus access the Champions League. To do this, they must beat Southampton next weekend and hope that the Red Devils lose the two remaining games: Thursday against Chelsea (pending matchday 32) and Sunday against Fulham.
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