Ashley Young has tweeted Gary Neville after Aston Villa effectively ended Liverpool’s chances of playing Champions League football next season.
Liverpool could only draw 1-1 against Villa on Saturday leaving their already faint hopes of finishing in the top four hanging by a thread.
Coupled with Manchester United’s win against Bournemouth, Jurgen Klopp’s side now need a minor miracle to finish above Newcastle or Man Utd.
Liverpool need a miracle to finish in the top four
The Reds are three points behind both having played a game more, meaning either side need to lose both of their matches and Liverpool beat Southampton on the final day to stand any chance.
With both sides having favourable fixtures (Newcastle face Leicester, and Chelsea while Man Utd have Chelsea and Fulham), Liverpool must prepare for Europa League football next season.
Villa themselves missed the chance to jump to sixth in the Premier League after conceding a last-minute equaliser against Liverpool. However, it seems one Villa player was more interested in Liverpool’s situation after the match.
That’s because Young has tweeted Neville after the result, revelling in Liverpool’s shortcomings.
Young came on in the 53rd minute and had extra motivation to earn a result for his Villa side, knowing he’d also help his former side effectively qualify for the Champions League.
The 37-year-old was clearly determined and picked up a yellow card late on for wasting time.
Ashley Young’s tweet to Gary Neville after Liverpool 1-1 Aston Villa
Responding to a Sky Sports clip of Neville and Jamie Carragher discussing the race for the top four on May 15, Young wrote: “Nothing like a plan coming together, OOPS,” while tagging his former Man Utd teammate.
In the clip, Neville insisted that Liverpool would get 71 points meaning wins in their final two matches. He also dreaded the ‘unthinkable’ happening and Liverpool finishing above United.
But the ‘unkthinkable’ now looks exactly that following Liverpool’s draw to Villa.
Who will finish in the top four? 🔎@Carra23 and @GNev2 assess the battle for the top four as the season reaches its finale 📈 pic.twitter.com/2mo6jSH7BO
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) May 15, 2023
And, while he would have been disappointed missing out on Champions League football, Klopp is ready to accept dropping into the second-tier European competition.
Klopp: We’ll make Europa League our competition
“We will make it [the Europa League] our competition,”Klopp said.
“I am not that spoilt. That we are already qualified for the Europa League is incredible with all these teams around us. That’s really difficult and we did it, that is good.
“For so long we couldn’t even hear the sound of the Champions League, that’s how far away we were. The Europe League is absolutely fine. Let’s see what we can do.”