The Premier League has come out to explain why Aston Villa were denied what looked like a clean goal during their decisive match against Manchester United on Sunday evening.

Villa head to Old Trafford on the final day needing a win and results elsewhere to go their way for them to qualify for next season's Champions League.

The afternoon started on a disastrous note with a surprisingly decent United side keeping them at bay. Emi Martinez was sent off just before halftime after he hauled down Rasmus Hojlund, who would have been through on goal.

In the second half, Morgan Rogers thought he had given Villa the lead against the run of play, only for referee Thomas Bramall to disallow it.

Rogers was penalised for nicking the ball away from Altay Bayindir before slotting it into an empty net.

The Video Assistant Referee couldn't intervene as Bramall had already blown his whistle before Rogers tucked the ball away.

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

The decision inadvertently cost Villa a place in the Champions League next season as Amad Diallo soon after opened the scoring on the other end.

The Ivorian met a perfectly weighted cross from Bruno Fernandes and guided it past Martinez's replacement Robin Olsen to give the Red Devils the lead in a Premier League game for the first time since the start of May.

Diallo then won a penalty later on, which Christian Eriksen converted in his last game for the club.

The result meant Villa finished in sixth place and will thus play in the Europa League. A draw could have been enough for them to leapfrog Newcastle United and qualify for the Champions League as the Magpies lost to Everton 1-0.

Source: TUKO.co.ke