It was always going to be difficult to follow up the high of booking a Europa League final place for Aston Villa but a tired draw at Burnley fell below expectations. This was supposed to be the day Villa all-but-secured Champions League football by beating an already-relegated team but instead were held on an entertaining afternoon at Turf Moor .
Villa are four points clear of sixth-placed Bournemouth with Liverpool and Manchester City to come, making this a missed opportunity, even if they do have the backup of facing Freiburg for a place at Europe’s top table. Jaidon Anthony and Zian Flemming sandwiched goals from Ross Barkley and Ollie Watkins, ensuring Villa cannot afford to completely rest for the remainder of the domestic season.
