Credit: Tung Manh Phan/Breaking Media

James Barker

Sat 16 May 2026 8:40, UK

Lucas Digne put in one of his best performances of the season in Aston Villa‘s win over Liverpool, surely earning him a place in their Europa League final XI.

Friday night is another occasion that Aston Villa fans won’t forget in a hurry, as Unai Emery‘s side qualified for next season’s Champions League.

The 4-2 victory over the Reds ensures Villa can now finish no lower than fifth this term, as they head back into Europe’s top cup competition for the second time in three seasons.

Numerous Villa players put in outstanding displays against Liverpool, with the whole of the forward line in particular being razor sharp.

However, one performance in the Liverpool win that may not take the headlines, but absolutely deserves equal recognition as others, was Digne’s.

What did Lucas Digne say after Aston Villa win vs Liverpool?

Digne has had a mixed season with Aston Villa, being both the beneficiary and victim of Emery’s tendency to rotate his full-backs.

As such, the Frenchman hasn’t quite been able to cement himself fully as Villa’s starting left-back in 2025-26, with Ian Maatsen also receiving 16 Premier League starts.

Indeed, there were some question marks towards the beginning of the campaign as to whether the 32-year-old veteran was even a viable starting option at this stage of his career.

And, whilst being inconsistent at times, Digne has largely put those doubts to bed this year, turning out 43 times for the Villans and providing seven assists in all competitions.

Following the full-time whistle against Liverpool, Digne took to his Instagram account to bask in the celebrations, and to post a very simple message to the Villa faithful.

“Champions League,” is all he had to say, and that’s all that pretty much needs saying too!

How good was Digne in Aston Villa vs Liverpool?

As aforementioned, other Aston Villa stars such as Ollie Watkins, Morgan Rogers and John McGinn respectively will take most of the plaudits for the Liverpool win, and rightly so. They were brilliant.

But, Digne’s display on Friday night mustn’t be overlooked either, as he played a big part in the victory as well.

First off, he was an essential part of Villa’s opening goal with their expertly-worked corner routine, as he played the initial short pass to McGinn before getting it back, and he then found Rogers who curled home.

As per FotMob, Digne completed 80 per cent of his passes successfully, created one chance, blocked one shot and played three passes into the final third.

He also made four clearances, two recoveries, won all three of his aerial duels and wasn’t dispossessed once.

Maatsen’s form has been very up and down in recent weeks, and indeed, over the course of the campaign, and so starting him against Freiburg on Wednesday night would be a major gamble.

Digne deserves to get the nod in Istanbul for his Liverpool display, whilst both his big-game and general experience will also work in his favour too.