Aston Villa slips up in race for Champions League after 1-0 loss at Brighton

LIVERPOOL, England: A bad week for Aston Villa got worse on Sunday after a surprise 1-0 loss at Brighton in the race for the top four in the Premier League.

Unai Emery’s team lost 4-2 at home to Olympiakos in the first leg of their Europa Conference League semifinal on Thursday. And on a day when Villa could have secured its place in next season’s Champions League, it suffered another setback.

Joao Pedro’s 87th-minute goal at the Amex Stadium gave hope to fifth-place Tottenham in its pursuit of Villa in fourth. Tottenham played Liverpool at Anfield later Sunday with the chance to move within four points of Villa with a game still in hand.