Villa’s Champions League qualification gets royal approval as Postecoglou questions culture at Spurs

By STEVE DOUGLAS
AP Sports Writer

The Premier League’s fourth and final representative for next season’s Champions League will be Aston Villa after fifth-place Tottenham’s 2-0 loss to Manchester City. Aston Villa’s players sprayed Champagne and received a congratulatory message from Prince William as they celebrated getting into Europe’s top competition to crown the club’s remarkable five-year turnaround in fortunes. Villa was in the second-tier Championship in 2019 and battling relegation from the Premier League a year later. There was a contrasting atmosphere at Tottenham as manager Ange Postecoglou appeared to question the culture of his club. A section of Spurs fans seemed to want their team to lose to help prevent fierce north London rival Arsenal winning the league.