As Leon Bailey nears the end of a spectacular season with Aston Villa, the footballer and the English club qualified to play in the upcoming 2024–2025 season of the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday. Villa’s Champions League faith relied on the outcome of Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City’s Premier League face-off yesterday.
Tottenham could have possibly claimed Villa’s fourth-place spot in the Premier League, but their 0-2 loss to City has left them five points behind Villa. With their position on the Premier League table safe, Villa has qualified for their first Champions League under the competition’s current iteration.
Prior to the competition’s rebranding from the European Cup to the Champions League during the 1991–1992 season, Villa had won the competition during the 1982–1982 season.
The team has not qualified for the tournament since the 1982–1983 season. Following the appointment of Spanish football manager Unai Emery, Villa has been enjoying a resurgence in the Premier League.
So too has Jamaican player Leon Bailey, who recently revealed he had contemplated leaving Villa before Emery’s arrival while the club was under the management of Steven Gerrard. Bailey’s performance was less than satisfactory for many Aston Villa fans during Gerrard’s tenure as manager in the 2022–2023 season.
However, the 26-year-old has done a remarkable job turning things around this season. So far, Bailey has acquired a total of 14 goals for Villa: 10 in the Premier League, two in the Conference League, and another 2 in the UECL Qualifiers.
Bailey has also delivered 13 assists during his 52 appearances on the field.
