Unai Emery’s side missed out on Champions League qualification after a 2-0 defeat at Old Trafford on the last day of the campaign.

Villa would have been hoping to make short work of a United side who were left crestfallen after Wednesday night’s Europa League final defeat against Tottenham.

Their task of achieving a positive result was rendered a tougher assignment when goalkeeper Emi Martinez, possibly playing his last game for the club, was sent off for hauling down Rasmus Hojlund and denying the striker a clear goalscoring opportunity.

Villa rode their luck after the break as United piled on the pressure, but they appeared to have taken a major step towards qualification for Europe’s elite club competition with 17 minutes remaining.

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There appeared no danger when the ball was rolling aimlessly towards Altay Bayindir but the United goalkeeper failed to gain full control and allowed Rogers to dispossess him and score a vital goal.

Referee Thomas Bramall, however, had already blown his whistle in the belief that Rogers had committed a foul which meant VAR was unable to intervene and come to Villa’s rescue.

Morgan Rogers thought he had capitalised on an Altay Bayindir error (Picture: Getty)

‘The referee’s call was a free kick to Manchester United with Bayindir deemed to be in control of the ball before Rogers gained possession,’ read a Premier League match centre statement on X.

‘The whistle was blown by the referee before the ball entered the goal, therefore the incident was not reviewable by the VAR.’

Emery was left fuming on the sidelines but his frustration turned to pure anger minutes later when Amad Diallo powered home a Bruno Fernandes cross and headed United into the lead.

Ruben Amorim’s side secured a rare win with three minutes remaining when Christian Eriksen, playing his last game for the club, converted a penalty donated to him by Fernandes.

Defeat for Villa means they were unable to take advantage of Newcastle’s shock home loss against Everton and will play in the Europa League next season.

‘I think everyone wanted the correct decisions when the VAR was implemented,’ said a frustrated Villa skipper John McGinn after the game.

Unai Emery confronted referee Thomas Bramall after the game (Credits: Martin Rickett/PA Wire)

‘You watch rugby, even if the referee has awarded a try and it’s wrong, its overturned. It’s so so hard to take especially when the impact it has on us, as a club and a team, is so big. Its’ really, really tough to take and handle.

‘I don’t think we deserved to win but if you were 1-0 up at that point and all you need is a point to get to the Champions League, it’s costly.

‘Moving forward, the rule has to be looked at as the correct decisions were not getting made at the end of the day. I think [referee] Thomas [Bramall] knew. It probably wasn’t fair on him at that moment either.

‘The boys are gutted. But European football three years in a row, we need to hold onto that and see what next season brings.’

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