A sensational first-half hat-trick from Ollie Watkins helped Aston Villa to a stunning 7-2 victory over Liverpool to end the champions' 100 per cent start to the season in extraordinary fashion.
Liverpool started badly at Villa Park as a poor pass from Adrian - deputising for Alisson in goal for the visitors after the Brazilian picked up a shoulder injury - gifted Watkins the opener in the fourth minute.
If there was an element of good fortunate about Watkins' first goal in a Villa shirt, his second was all his own fine work as he cut inside before firing into the top corner to stun the champions and make it 2-0 in the 22nd minute.
Mohamed Salah's fine left-foot finish seemed to get Liverpool back in the game in the 33rd minute, but John McGinn's deflected strike two minutes later restored Villa's two-goal advantage.
Watkins completed his hat-trick inside 39 minutes, with former Everton midfielder Ross Barkley - making his debut after joining Villa on loan - making it five, 10 minutes into the second half.
Salah did give Liverpool hope on the hour mark, before a late double from Grealish completed a remarkable victory for the team who just avoided relegation last season.
Here, we rate the players on both sides...
Liverpool
Adrian 4
In a season of goalkeeping howlers, his one for the first was up with the worst of them
Alexander-Arnold 4
Bizarre to see him not on the same wavelength as his regular defensive colleagues
Gomez 4
Turned inside out for Villa’s second and will have better nights than this one
Van Dijk 5
Booked. Rare to see him so flustered and even deflected the third past his hapless keeper
Robertson 5
Was his usual threat going forward but was severely tested in a strange first half
Keita 5
Got into some threatening positions but too often chose the wrong option
Fabinho 5
Struggled to make any meaningful impact and bypassed by the Villa midfield
Wijnaldum 6
Did not get any foothold in proceedings but kept truing to provide a spark
Salah 7
Great finishes and had Mane not been missing, might have run riot
Firmino 5
Wasted an early opportunity to level the scores and that might have been crucial
Jota 5
Creative and had a couple of decent efforts but will obviously take time to gel
Aston Villa
Martinez 7
Made a hash of one pass but redeemed himself with a series of decent saves
Cash 7
A lot of danger came down his flank but he stuck to his task with gusto
Konsa 7
A calming presence alongside a more headstrong partner but tested to the full
Mings 7
One buccaneering run into the Liverpool half summed up this guy’s approach to the game
Targett 8
Did not get forward a lot but did not need to and was pretty sure-footed
McGinn 7
Lucky not to concede a penalty and sent his volley the right way to get a deflected goal
Douglas Luiz 8
Neat and intelligent, ss quietly an effective performer as you are likely to find
Barkley 8
Could not have wished for a better debut, capping it with the deflected fifth
Trezeguet 7
A great assist for Watkins’ hat-trick goal and showed a great work ethic all night
Watkins 9
Repaying his transfer fee and giving Villa the goal instinct they have lacked
Grealish 9
Relished going up against one of the elite and was in simply sublime form
