Villa Park was bouncing when Jhon Duran scored an emphatic brace off the bench to ensure that Aston Villa salvaged a late draw against Liverpool in the Premier League, for it all but confirmed a place among Europe’s elite.
Unai Emery watched his team get picked apart by ravenous Eagles later that week, last week, but it didn’t matter, with Tottenham Hotspur already losing at home against Manchester City, confirming that the Villans would grace the Champions League for the first time in its modern branding.
But there’s no denying that a remarkable campaign finished with a whimper, Villa crashing out of the Europea Conference League against Olympiakos in the semi-final and winning just one of five final top-flight fixtures.
Of course, this hardly matters when the proud supporters know that the summit of European football lies around the corner, when the giddying chance to make more history, in turn, opens the door to exciting new additions.
Former loanee Ross Barkley is expected to be the first to make the move to the Midlands this summer in a shrewd move following his excellent spell with Luton Town last season, but Emery is certainly not going to stop there.
