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BIRMINGHAM, England :Colombian super-sub Jhon Duran scored two late goals as Aston Villa battled back to salvage a 3-3 home draw with Liverpool on Monday and take a significant step towards a place in the Champions League next season.
A match that started with Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez conceding a shocking second minute own-goal turned into a thriller with Duran coming on to save the night with strikes in the 85th and 88th minutes.
Villa are now on 68 points with one game remaining, five clear of fifth-placed Tottenham Hotspur who have two matches still to come but must beat title-chasing Manchester City on Tuesday to stay in contention.
Unai Emery’s side play their last game at Crystal Palace on Sunday while Tottenham end their season at relegated Sheffield United.
Liverpool were gifted the opener when Argentine international Martinez fumbled a tame Harvey Elliot cross, desperately clawing the ball across the line and into his own net.
Villa, who would have made sure of fourth place with a win, equalised 10 minutes later through Youri Tielemans on the Belgian’s return from three matches out due to injury.
The joy was short-lived as Cody Gakpo made it 2-1 to the third-placed visitors in the 23rd, after a VAR check for offside, and Jarell Quansah then headed in off the post from a free kick for his first Premier League goal in the 48th.
Liverpool looked set for all three points in manager Juergen Klopp’s penultimate match, a clash that could have ended with a far higher scoreline with both sets of fans disappointed by VAR and plenty of missed chances.
“We got a bit of luck. It’s been a tough few weeks with lads coming back and playing through the pain barrier. This place got us going,” Villa captain John McGinn told Sky Sports television.
“Big Jhon is a bit nuts at times, he’s a nightmare to play against.
“There’s some of us that have never been close to the Champions League in our life. The manager has a no-excuse mentality. People have written us off and we’ve floated under the radar. We’ll have our Man City tops on tomorrow.”
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