Tottenham Hotspur’s loss to Manchester City in Tuesday evening’s English Premier League clash cleared the path for Aston Villa to claim the top four spot in the table and subsequently book themselves a spot in the UEFA Champions League for the 2024/25 season.

Unai Emery’s Villans are now guaranteed to finish fourth in this season’s Premier League following fifth-placed Tottenham Hotspur’s defeat on Tuesday night, which coincided with the club’s End of Season Awards Dinner.

It leaves Villa five points in front heading into the final day of the league season on Sunday.

The achievement represents only the third time Villa have finished in the top four of the Premier League and first since 1995/96.

And the incredible success means the club have qualified for next season’s Champions League, securing participation among Europe’s elite for the first time since 1982/83.

Aston Villa appointed manager Emery in October 2022 with the Villains 14th in the Premier League, three points from the relegation zone.

The Birmingham-based club had finished their previous two seasons in 14th and 17th and had been playing in the Championship just three years earlier in 2019.

But Emery has turned Villa’s fortunes round. Only Manchester City, Liverpool and Arsenal have collected more Premier League points than Villa since the Spaniard took charge.

And he is set to manage his sixth different club in the Champions League after Valencia, Spartak Moscow, Sevilla, Paris St-Germain and Villarreal.

“It’s a very special day,” Emery said. “It’s our dream, we started the season to be here. We’ve had injuries but the team was always focused. It’s fantastic. To play Champions League is the best.” Said Unai Emery during the their annual awards night at Villa Park on Tuesday night.

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