Aston Villa had done their bit, albeit not without a struggle, and now all they could do was wait. Morgan Rogers, fresh from completing his hat-trick in stoppage time, was among the Villa players huddled around the phone of the fitness coach Moisés Del Hoyo praying Atalanta would not find a winner in Barcelona and divert Villa’s course. Everyone was jostling for a view. With the final whistle looming here, Unai Emery was busy relaying the latest to Leon Bailey, explaining how Villa would have to settle for a playoff next month if the Serie A side scored.

Just as everybody had got to grips with the small print of the permutations, au fait with others’ goal difference, Villa Park released a communal cheer and the players dispersed. Villa had secured a place in the top eight and succeeded where Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Milan and Paris Saint-Germain had failed.