Liverpool beat Aston Villa 2-0

Liverpool snapped a run of 4 consecutive defeats in the Premier League with a 2-0 win against Aston Villa at Anfield on Saturday night. Arne Slot’s men finally got a favourable result courtesy of goals from Mo Salah and the returning Ryan Gravenberch.

From Liverpool’s 3-2 loss vs Brentford in their last Premier League match, Arne Slot replaced Milos Kerkez, Curtis Jones and Florian Wirtz with Andy Robertson, Ryan Gravenberch and Alexis MacAllister. The only change in Villa’s XI from their win against Man City was Evann Guessand, in for the injured Emiliano Buendia.

The Reds started aggressively, demonstrating their attacking intent early, but it was Villa who produced the first moment of quality. In the 2nd minute, Liverpool’s Ryan Gravenberch had a shot blocked on the edge of the area. However, the first major alarm for the hosts sounded in the 5th minute when Morgan Rogers whipped a shot from inside the box, which smashed against the far post before rebounding to safety. The attempt, which started with a brilliant long pass to Ollie Watkins, was a clear statement of Villa’s ambition.

Liverpool responded by trying to settle into their rhythm, but the action remained end-to-end. In the 15th minute, Dominik Szoboszlai let fly from 25 yards, but his powerful strike was wayward, drifting past the post. Minutes later, Liverpool goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili was called into action for two consecutive moments of brilliance. In the 19th minute, he made a superb save, leaping high to fingertip a deflected, goal-bound shot from Matty Cash onto the outside of the post and behind for a corner. The deflection off Van Dijk made the save even more impressive. Then, in the 21st minute, Mamardashvili was forced to make another save, comfortably pushing away a curling shot from Morgan Rogers.

Liverpool continued to create half-chances, though precision was lacking. Mohamed Salah shot over the bar from the edge of the box in the 22nd minute. Their best chance from open play came in the 23rd minute when Dominik Szoboszlai managed to intercept a pass and ran through on goal, but his subsequent left-foot finish was tame and easily saved by Villa keeper Emiliano Martínez. The visitors’ defence held firm, and in the 43rd minute, Liverpool thought they had the breakthrough when Hugo Ekitike headed home a deep cross from Szoboszlai, but the goal was correctly ruled out for offside following a VAR review.

However, the deadlock was finally, and bizarrely, broken in first-half stoppage time. In the 1st minute of extra time, Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez played an errant pass out from the back that went straight to Mohamed Salah and the Egyptian needed no second invitation, gratefully passing the ball back first-time into the open net to score his 250th goal for the club, giving Liverpool an opportunistic 1-0 lead heading into the tunnel.

The second half saw Liverpool come out with renewed confidence, buoyed by the late first-half goal. However, the physicality ramped up, leading to the first yellow cards of the match. In the 54th minute, Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk was booked for tripping Morgan Rogers. This was quickly followed by a caution for Villa’s Matty Cash in the 57th minute.

Liverpool smelled blood, and they soon doubled their lead in the 58th minute. Ryan Gravenberch received the ball, drove forward, and unleashed a shot from range. The effort took a decisive deflection off Villa defender Pau Torres and flew past Martínez, securing the 2-0 advantage. Villa manager Unai Emery responded immediately with tactical changes, making a double substitution in the 59th minute, Ross Barkley replaced John McGinn, and Donyell Malen came on for Evann Guessand.

The substitutions did little to change the pattern of the game initially. In the 73rd minute, Amadou Onana was booked for unsportsmanlike conduct after fouling Alexis Mac Allister. Emery then introduced more changes in the 75th minute, with a triple substitution with Jadon Sancho, Tyrone Mings, and Ian Maatsen replacing Ollie Watkins, Pau Torres, and Lucas Digne.

The subs immediately influenced the game at both ends. In the 76th minute, Ian Maatsen made a superb clearance at the far post, denying Mohamed Salah a simple headed finish from an Andrew Robertson cross, a crucial blocked attempt that prevented a third goal. Villa’s attacking urgency increased, but the quality of their chances remained low. Ross Barkley registered a wayward shot in the 79th minute, firing high and wide after receiving a pass from Sancho.

As time wound down, frustration began to show. Morgan Rogers was booked for dissent in the 80th minute. A slightly funny moment occurred in the 87th minute, resulting in a double booking, Dominik Szoboszlai was shown a yellow card for time wasting, followed immediately by Villa manager Unai Emery, for his reaction to the Hungarian’s efforts.

The final dramatic moment of the match came deep in stoppage time in the 90+2′ minute, when substitute Tyrone Mings was forced to leave the pitch with a hamstring injury, meaning Villa had to finish the match with ten players, having already used all five permitted substitutions. The win puts Liverpool in 3rd, perhaps temporarily with Sunderland and Man City yet to play, Villa meanwhile drop to 11th.