2019 contest proved to be a sliding doors moment for Derby County and Aston Villa | OneFootball

Highlights

The 2019 Championship play-off final, contested between Aston Villa and Derby County, was certainly not short of drama and it's fair to say that the two clubs involved have experienced opposing fates since.

Fresh off the back of a dominant 1-0 win against Premier League champions Manchester City, Villa look like one of the most fearsome sides in the top flight, with some even suggesting they could be potential title challengers.

Flourishing under Unai Emery, the Villains could be set to earn Champions League football at the end of the season, if they continue to play in the exciting manner that they've displayed in recent weeks.

Derby, on the other hand, are in their second consecutive season in League One, after a 21-point deduction in November 2021 contributed to relegation from the Championship in 2022.

2019 Championship play-off final

Frank Lampard's Derby had just stunned Leeds United 4-3 in the play-off semi-final to earn them an illustrious place at Wembley, where they'd be coming up against Dean Smith's imperious Villa side.

The match included a whole host of current footballing stars, which in hindsight, displays the immense talent that was on show at the time.

Lampard's side included the likes of Mason Mount and Fikayo Tomori, whilst the Villa team contained faces such as Jack Grealish and Tammy Abraham.

A hotly contested match saw Smith's side go 2-0 up, thanks to goals from Anwar El-Ghazi and John McGinn. A late consolation goal from Jack Marriott was not enough to change Derby's fortunes, and it was Villa that were promoted back to the Premier League.

Since the match, the two clubs could barely have suffered such different fates.

Aston Villa's success

The first season back in the Premier League was not an ideal one for Villa fans, with the club narrowly avoiding immediate relegation to the Championship thanks to a late run of results.

The following two seasons were campaigns saw Villa start to build. They appointed Steven Gerrard as first team manager in November 2021, but when a poor set of results came their way in October 2022, he was replaced with current boss Emery.

The Villa Park outfit have gone from strength to strength under the Spaniard. Since his appointment, he has led Villa to Europa Conference League football, as they finished 7th last season, and his side currently sit 3rd in the Premier League following an incredible start to the season.

Despite losing their star man Grealish for £100 million in 2021, Villa have spent the money wisely, investing in key players such as Pau Torres, Moussa Diaby, and Diego Carlos.

They have become one of the top tier's disruptors, are among the favourites for the Europa Conference League title, and have become the sort of clubs that others down the pyramid look to as an inspiration.

Derby's fortunes have been much different to Villa's since the play-off final. The following summer saw them lose Lampard to the Chelsea job as well as key players like Mount and Tomori, whose loans expired.

They finished 10th the following year before narrowly avoiding relegation in the 2020/21 season.

That's when things really turned sour. Their fate finally caught up with them when a 21-point deduction, handed to the club as a result of the off-field antics of former owner Mel Morris, which would see them enter administration, proved too much for Wayne Rooney's side to overcome and they were relegated to League One.

There was a time when it looked dangerously like the Rams might be forced to fold - perhaps the lowest point in the club's recent history - but luckily local businessman David Clowes was able to rescue them.

They're now trying to climb back up the divisions. That Championship play-off final will feel even longer ago when Derby supporters see the success Villa are having in Europe and the Premier League.