Aston Villa 2-1 Brighton: Ollie Watkins on target as Unai Emery's side qualify for Europa Conference League

Aston Villa secured a place in next season's Europa Conference League after a 2-1 final day win over Brighton at Villa Park.

Villa - who last played in Europe during the 2010/11 campaign, when they were knocked out by Rapid Vienna in the play-off stage of the Europa League - secured seventh place with victory, pipping Tottenham by one point.

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Douglas Luiz's caressed shot gave Unai Emery's men the lead, with Ollie Watkins doubling the hosts' advantage after Deniz Undav had been denied an equaliser after a VAR review.

Undav did then pull one back - his third goal in five games - as VAR intervened again, but that was as far as the resurgence progressed as the Seagulls' historic season ended in defeat.

How Villa stayed in control of their own destiny

Villa knew they were in control of their destiny from the start. With Tottenham one point behind and Brentford two, a win over Brighton would seal European football, regardless of what happened elsewhere.

They quickly got down to business. Leon Bailey swivelled and hit the bar inside five minutes and before 10 minutes had passed, they were in front when Luiz struck after a wonderful pass from Jacob Ramsey.

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Brighton thought they had equalised when Julio Enciso's delicious through ball was poked past Emi Martinez by Undav, but VAR ruled the former had strayed marginally offside in the build-up - and Villa doubled their lead when Watkins rolled home.

Undav found the net again, after letting a cross roll over his head, as a frantic first half continued, and just when it looked as though he was about to experience deja vu after a potential offside in the build-up, VAR stepped in to award the goal.

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Alexis Mac Allister collected a Tyrone Mings header and slammed a shot wide as Brighton made a solid start to the second half, but Villa could have been out of tonight shortly afterwards had Ramsey have kept his connection on Bailey's cross down from inside the six-yard box.

A free-kick from Lucas Digne drifted just wide of the near post, as Villa pressed to quieten any lingering worries of surrendering the lead, before Ramsey was denied by Jason Steele in the closing stages.

But they only had to defend three Brighton shots after the break and, roared on by a jubilant crowd, Villa ended a rollercoaster campaign with their highest finish since in 13 years and a place back in European competition.

How the Premier League table finished

Emery's Villa end on a high - Opta stats

• Aston Villa's seventh place finish is their highest in a Premier League season since 2009-10 (6th), while next season will be their first in European competition since 2010-11.
• Aston Villa's victory was their 18th of the season, only registering more in a Premier League campaign once before (21 in 1992-93). Indeed, they've now won seven successive Premier League games at Villa Park for the first time since February 1993.
• Brighton have now lost each of their last four Premier League games against Aston Villa, while they've also lost four of their six previous final day games in the competition (W2).
• Ollie Watkins netted his 15th Premier League goal of the season, becoming the first Aston Villa player to score 15+ goals in a single campaign of the competition since Christian Benteke in 2012-13 (19).

Aston Villa season verdict: Two words. Unai Emery.

Where do you start with Aston Villa? Rarely has the Premier League seen a season of quite such contrasting fortunes, but that comes down to one man alone - Unai Emery.

The harsh tarring of his difficulties in interviews at Arsenal had been cast aside by his Europa League win at Villarreal in 2021, but there was still no guarantee his second spell in English football would work out more profitably than his first.

It didn't take long to suggest it might. In the almost three years since he had left the Premier League, Emery set to work improving his English beyond recognition, but his results on the pitch are what has really caught the eye since he arrived at Villa Park.

Had the season started that day, Villa would be only goal difference away from a Champions League place, sandwiched between Newcastle and Manchester United in the table and only four points off second spot.

That would be remarkable enough in itself, but the fact the club he inherited had just been thrashed 4-0 at Newcastle and won only three of their first 13 games amid an increasingly toxic atmosphere - well, you might as well be talking about two different clubs.

Emery's main achievement has been both the simplest and the toughest. Villa had spent plenty of money unwisely since their Premier League return, but there was no way the squad he inherited should have been heading back to the Championship.

He turned his side from under to over-achievers overnight - not only winning five of his first seven games, but then putting a small bump in the road behind them to go on a 10-game unbeaten run, which has earned them a first European season since the days of Martin O'Neill.

Whereas Steven Gerrard never seemed to know his favoured style or line-up, Emery's consistency of selection has laid solid foundations for their success - although there has been nothing simple about the tactical puzzles he has managed to solve time and time again this season.

Villa would have bitten your arm off for a top-10 position when Emery walked through the door, let alone a European tour. Can he repeat the feat next season?

Well, the man who has won more Europa Leagues than anyone else is finally getting the recognition he deserves on these shores. That respect should be enough to make clear this is no flash-in-the-pan season while he is in charge.
Ron Walker

Brighton season verdict: This is no ordinary club outsmarting the Premier League

If at the start of the season you knew Brighton would lose Graham Potter, Yves Bissouma, Leandro Trossard and Marc Cucurella then few will have been rushing to back them for a top-10 finish.

But this is no ordinary club.

In stepped Roberto De Zerbi, who put down the feather dusters used by Potter and replaced them with attacking battering rams. A clear upgrade. Off the Brighton production line came Moises Caicedo, Kaoru Mitoma and Pervis Estupinan to help the Seagulls soar into Europe for the first time in their history.

They have done it with the backdrop of some sensational football that has seen them post underlying performance data akin to Manchester City.

It's easy to forget that in 1997 Brighton almost fell out of the football league - and almost out of existence. Owner Tony Bloom would have been in the stands that day. He is now running the show but is an owner that doesn't revel in the limelight - he stayed in the stands as the playing staff did a lap of honour to celebrate with the fans after their win over Southampton that secured their European adventure.

His data-led model has provided the backbone of what has been a phenomenal period of recruitment both on and off the pitch.

Bloom - who made his fortune beating the bookmakers by building algorithms that outsmarted the market - is now outsmarting Premier League football clubs with the way he runs the show. What a story. What a football club.
Lewis Jones

How the season played out

When does the 2023/24 Premier League season start?

The Premier League season will kick-off on August 12 and conclude nine months later on May 19, 2024.

• The key dates and schedule for the 2023/24 Premier League season

The start is one week later than the 2022/23 launch as the schedule returns to normal following the Covid-19 pandemic and the Qatar 2022 World Cup, which provided disruption during the previous three seasons.

However, the fixture list provides for a return of the mid-season player break which will take place between January 13-20.

Fixtures for the new Premier League season will be revealed at 9am on Thursday June 15 and you can follow the announcements on Sky Sports News and across Sky Sports' digital platforms.

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