Unai Emery admits why Aston Villa 3-3 Liverpool 'summed up' the entire season

The Spanish head coach was left knackered after his side’s dramatic late comeback - led by Jhon Duran’s brace - earned what could prove to be a vital point in the Champions League race.

It was a crazy game as Villa Park welcomed its heroes for one final time this season, kickstarted by a rare and bizarre error from Emiliano Martinez. The World Cup winner spilled a deflected Harvey Elliott cross into his own net, gifting Liverpool a second-minute lead and setting the tone for what continued to be a chaotic contest.

Youri Tielemans netted powerfully to mark his return from injury and equalise before Cody Gakpo’s tap-in and Jarell Quansah’s header earned a two-goal advantage for the visitors. But Duran, off the bench in the 78th minute, made a tremendous impact to score twice and level the scoring. There were also disallowed goals for Ollie Watkins and Mohamed Salah, while Diego Carlos missed a sitter from a yard out.

“Today is a summary like a season. We started losing 5-1 in Newcastle, but the team always reacted and was consistent and even when we had troubles in the season we always came back. Today was the same, that was fantastic, like it has been the season,” Emery said during the post-match press conference, owing to his team’s determination.

“Inch by inch we are getting there. I never use injured players as an excuse because other teams have circumstances as well. I always try to use the players we have available today and for example Calum Chambers, how he helped us was fantastic. When the players are showing commitment we need we can exploit our capacity,” Emery continued.

Villa will need to dig deep to display the same graft on Sunday as they take on Crystal Palace to round off the season. If Tottenham Hotspur beat Manchester City on Tuesday, Emery and his men must earn at least a point to secure a top-four finish. If Spurs lose to Pep Guardiola’s side, then Villa’s trip to Selhurst Park will be a celebration rather than a war.

All eyes are on Tottenham, then. Or at least you’d think so. Emery won’t be tuning in but rather watching Palace meticulously. “I will the match we played and analyse. I am going to watch tomorrow Crystal Palace, it is my only objective ahead of Sunday,” Emery concluded.