Aston Villa qualify for the Champions League

Erling Haaland scored twice to settle Manchester City’s nerves as the Premier League champions beat Tottenham 2-0 to take a giant step towards a historic fourth straight English title on Tuesday.

Defeat for Spurs guarantees that Aston Villa will finish in the fourth Champions League spot, joining City, Arsenal and Liverpool in Europe’s top-tier competition next season.

Villa have not reached Uefa’s premier club competition since it rebranded from the European Cup to the Champions League in 1991-92.

They last played in the European Cup 41 years ago in 1982-83 having won the competition the season before.

Villa did finish second and fourth in the Premier League in 1992-93 and 1995-96 respectively, but in both those seasons only first was good enough to reach the Champions League.

Villa’s players and staff were holding their annual awards night at Villa Park on Tuesday night and celebrated as the result at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was confirmed.

The club posted photos on social media, external of Emery and the players cheering and spraying champagne.

“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.”

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