Match report: Liverpool 2-0 Aston Villa
Arne Slot's reaction
What I liked most was that the players and the fans all felt the importance of the game – that this was the moment to show we are still there.
We were ready for it today – against a team, by the way, that was in very, very good form. It’s a good result.
The margins sre small in the Premier League, you see it in every game – it was the same today. We didn’t concede from a set-piece, which is very helpful if you want to win football matches, especially in the Premier League at the moment.
The midfield were very good, as a team and individually. There were some other outstanding performances as well.
[On Ryan Gravenberch] We’ll see how his ankle feels. I think he’s able to go again [against Real Madrid], but we’ll have to see.
[On Mo Salah] Mo scores, again, which is not a surprise to anyone I think. But I also liked that he was strong every time we played long balls towards him and he helped his team out defensively. This is the Mo that I, we, he himself want to see.
We have to be very, very, very good against Real Madrid. It’s another challenge but one to look forward to.
Mo Salah's reaction
It’s a very important win – we’ve had some losses but I’m glad we’re coming back ahead of some important games.
[Are you happy with how your season has started?] Nah, but I know football I said from the beginning it’s a tricky season for us because we have a few new players. Very good signings but they need time to adapt, and we lost some good players as well. We just need time. I think we’ll be fine.
[On reaching 250 goals for Liverpool] It’s a great feeling to sacore goals and win trophies for such a big club. I don’t take it for granted. I’m so proud.
Full time: Liverpool 2-0 Aston Villa
A rousing victory for Liverpool, who jump to third in the table after ending a run of four straight league defeats. Mo Salah scored his 250th goal for Liverpool after an errant pass –less charitable adjectives are available – by Emi Martinez on the stroke of half-time. Ryan Gravenberch scored the second on his return to the side.
It was a fun game, played at a furious pace. Villa hit the post twice at 0-0, once after a great save from Giorgi Mamardashvili, while there were several near misses at the other end.
It’s too early to say Liverpool are back, not least because their next two games are against Real Madrid and Manchester City, but this was arguably their best performance of the season.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal | 10 | 15 | 25 |
| 2 | AFC Bournemouth | 9 | 5 | 18 |
| 3 | Liverpool | 10 | 4 | 18 |
| 4 | Tottenham Hotspur | 10 | 9 | 17 |
| 5 | Chelsea | 10 | 7 | 17 |
90+2 min The Villa sub Tyrone Mings has gone off holding his hamstring, so they will be down to ten for the last couple of minutes. Poor guy has had no luck at all with injury.
90+1 min Four minutes of added time.
90 min Plenty of late pressure from Villa, with Sancho looking good on the left since coming on as substitute. Despite this result, their season is on an upward trajectory.
87 min Szoboszlai and … Unai Emery are booked after a row over a throw-in.
84 min “Given that Liverpool are playing well and up to third in the table, to whom does the coveted title of Bald Fraud™ pass?” wonders Kári Tulinius. “Nuno? I suppose if Bournemouth win tomorrow, it can be reclaimed by the original Bald Fraud™.”
I’ll have it. I always wanted to win something.
82 min “Wonderful to get two sports for the price of one in the same contest,” writes Colum Fordham. “The wrestling match between Mac Allister and Onana added to the fun of seeing the renewed intensity of a Liverpool side that has been out of sorts for the last four or five weeks. Slot out? Surely not! Hopefully the tide has turned and Liverpool have cashed in on Villa’s profligacy.”
Anyone who wanted Slot to be sacked after a few defeats should be banned from offering an opinion on football for the next five years.
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80 min Rogers is booked for dissent.
80 min Gakpo has a shot blocked and Villa break through Rogers. The move peters out but Villa have come to life in the last few minutes and a goal would make things interesting.
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79 min Sancho runs at Bradley and guides a neat pass into Barkley, 15 yards from goal. He shoots high and wide on the turn. Tough chance but classy play from Sancho, whose ceiling, though rarely visible, remains so high.
78 min: Liverpool substitution Florian Wirtz comes on for the impressive and hugely popular Hugo Ekitike.
76 min Ekitike backheels the ball to Robertson, whose brilliant cross is taken off Salah’s head by Maatsen at the far post. Superb defending.
75 min: Double substitution for Villa Jadon Sancho, Tyrone Mings and Ian Maatsen replace Lucas Digne, Ollie Watkins and Pau Torres.
74 min Mac Allister goes down again before the corner is taken. Then, when it is swung in, Onana is penalised for a foul on Mac Allister. They were basically re-enacting Hulk Hogan v Andre the Giant circa 1987.
73 min Villa win a corner on the right. Before it can be taken, Onana shoves Mac Allister over by the neck. He’s booked and VAR upholds the decision; that could easily have been a red card.
71 min The XI picked by Arne Slot tonight is much closer to last season’s, with Giorgio Mamardashvili and Hugo Ekitike the only new players, and it’s probably no coincidence that Liverpool have produced their best performance of this season. Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak are far too good to fail, but their integration may take longer than we envisaged.
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70 min Malen almost changes the mood – and the scoreline – with a fierce shot that swerves not far wide of the near post. I suspect Mamardashvili had it covered though.
68 min So anyway, Slot out?
65 min Watkins fresh-airs an awkward volley from the left side of the box. Villa have contributed so much to this game but right now they look a beaten team.
63 min Liverpool rode their luck at times in the first half, when Villa hit the post twice, but overall their performance has been superb. While the result was always the most important thing tonight, this performance – full of the intensity and quality we saw throughout last season - feels like a palate-cleanser.
61 min “Stay focused for 90 minutes?” sniffs Simon McMahon. “I can barely concentrate for more than five these days, which is why I’m following the MBM at the same time as watching Girlbands Forever on telly, listening to the radio, writing emails, talking to cats and pouring large whiskies. Could Martinez do that?”
The pass for Salah’s goal made it look like he’d been on the whisky!!!!!! #roflcopter.
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59 min: Double substitution for Villa Ross Barkley and Donyell Malen replace John McGinn and Evann Guessand.
After a couple of crisp passes, Gravenberch veered from right to centre and tried his luck from the edge of the D. His luck was in: the left-foot shot took a deflection and wrongfooted Martinez.
GOAL! Liverpool 2-0 Aston Villa (Gravenberch 58)
Ryan Gravenberch, back in the side to keep Liverpool’s sheet clean, helps sully Villa’s by scoring the second goal.
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57 min Cash is booked, I think for a foul on Ekitike.
54 min Rogers rolls Van Dijk, who bundles him over and is booked. Rogers is some footballer.
53 min Martinez makes a fine save to deny Bradley, though it wouldn’t have counted because Salah was offside in the build-up. Salah did brilliantly to head Gakpo’s cross back towards Bradley but he was a long way offside.
51 min Cash tries to curve an imaginative pass around the defence to put Guessand throug on goal. The sliding Robertson makes an important interception and, because it wasn’t a backpass, Mamardashvili is safe to pick the ball up.
49 min “Martinez is a good keeper, but he seems unable to stay focused for 90 minutes these days,” writes Kári Tulinius. “Marco Bizot is also a good keeper, who was great for Brest, and were I Unai Emery, I’d give him a run in goal for Villa.”
48 min Gakpo miscontrols a Salah pass right in front of goal. He was offside, though, and that’s probably why he lost concentration as it was a simple ball to control.
48 min A relatively quiet start to the second half.
47 min “The best half of attacking football Liverpool have played this season,” writes Matt Dony. “By a long way. You get the impression they’ll need to score one or two more to secure the victory, as Villa clearly have a couple of goals in them. But that’s encouraging. Also, a reminder of just how ridiculous Ian ‘Didn’t Even Take Penalties’ Rush’s goalscoring figures were. Wales have been blessed with some genuinely unbelievable players, but never enough at one time. And often in similar positions. Annoyingly.”
46 min Liverpool get the second half under way.
Half-time reading
All together now: Fashion, turn to the left…
Half time: Liverpool 1-0 Aston Villa
Fast, furious entertainment at Anfield. Villa hit the post twice, but Liverpool dominated possession and threatened regularly before Mo Salah punished a terrible pass from Emi Martinez.
See you in 10 minutes for the second half.
Updated
45+3 min Only Ian Rush (346) and Roger Hunt (285) have scored more goals for Liverpool than Mo Salah.
Mo Salah scores his 250th goal for Liverpool after a rank howler from Emi Martinez. He tried to pass the ball to Pau Torres on the left the Villa area, got his angles wrong and gave the ball straight to Salah. He guided an instant shot around Pau Torres and into the empty net with his right foot.
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GOAL! Liverpool 1-0 Aston Villa (Salah 45+2)
And now he’s back on the scoresheet!
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45 min Salah slips Digne superbly, only for Onana to get back and put out the burgeoning fire. Salah has shown glimpses of his best tonight, particularly with those quick touches to evade an incoming defender.
No goal! Liverpool 0-0 Aston Villa
Yep, Ekitike was offside. Just before the disallowed goal, no more than ten seconds, Konsa lunged to make a brilliant block from Mac Allister’s shot.
Updated
Hang on, this looks offside. It was an excellent downward header from Szoboszlai’s cross but it will be ruled out.
Updated
GOAL! Liverpool 1-0 Aston Villa (Ekitike 43)
At one end or another, a goal was coming!
39 min Watkins is bundled over 30-odd yards from goal after a sinuous run infield. Cash drives the free-kick well wide.
Updated
38 min Robertson’s free-kick is fractionally too high for Konate at the far post; his header thus goes well wide.
36 min Gakpo’s snapshot is blocked by Cash after a quick Liverpool move.
35 min Plenty of Liverpool pressure now. The first goal is always important but tonight it feels positively Brobdingnagian, Clive.
33 min Szoboszlai curls a good free-kick that is pushed away to his left by the diving Martinez. I fancy he saw that late, which made it a better save.
32 min Gakpo moves smoothly infield and is tripped by Guessand just outside the area. That could have been a yellow card and Robertson politely asks the referee what’s what.
More importantly, Liverpool have a free-kick 20 yards from goal, a fair way to the left of centre…
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29 min Onana is back on.
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27 min Onana stays down after running into one of the advertising boards behind the Villa goal. He was given a helping shove by Szoboszlai as he shepherded the ball out of play.
Villa’s players aren’t happy; nor are the home fans; nor is Van Dijk, who wants the game to continue. But the good news is all parties have covered themselves in empathic glory!
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26 min “Never mind the final score, this could be 4-3 (or 3-4) already,” says Matt Dony. “Exciting game, but terrified that Liverpool are wasting so many opportunities.”
You should be neutral mate; it’s great fun.
25 min Guessand breaks behind Van Dijk and moves into the area. Robertson makes a good, if risky, tackle from the wrong side and the danger passes.
For about 10 seconds, until Liverpool lose the ball in their own penalty area and Guessand’s shot from 18 yards is desperately blocked by Van Dijk.
23 min: Big chance for Szoboszlai!
Szoboszlai does superbly to read a return pass towards Pau Torres just outside the area, nick the ball and run through on goal. But his left-foot finish is tame and Martinez falls to his right to save.
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22 min At the other end, Salah shoots over from the edge of the D. This match is great fun; the pace is ferocious.
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21 min Rogers swerves majestically away from Gravenberch and curls a shot towards goal from 25 yards. Mamardashvili dives to his right to push it away – a comfortable save, certainly compared to the last one, but a thrilling run from Rogers.
19 min: Superb save by Mamardashvili!
Cash wallops a shot from a ludicrous angle that takes a nick off Van Dijk and flies towards the top corner. Mamardashvili leaps high to his left and fingertips the ball onto the outside of the post and behind for a corner. That’s a great stop, the kind Mamardashvili made every few minutes (or so it seemed) at Euro 2024.
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18 min Good spell this for Liverpool, with the crowd finding their voice again. Salah slips Digne expertly, then cuts inside and crosses towards Gakpo at the far post. He heads back across goal and Ekitike can’t reach the the ball on the stretch. It came at an awkward height.
Seconds later, Szoboszlai’s clever looping header finds Robertson, whose sidefoot volley from the edge of the area deflects through to Martinez.
15 min Szoboszlai, 25 yards out, hits a sweet strike that goes a few yards past the left-hand post. It wasn’t too far wide but Martinez was comfortable and barely even looked at the ball.
13 min Salah plays a superb pass to the underlapping Bradley, whose cutback is crucially cut out at the near post by Torres. Excellent positioning.
12 min Watkins looks lively and is pulling to the left at every opportunity, with McGinn and Rogers supporting him on that side. One such run leads to a throw-in high up the pitch. Digne takes it short, gets it back and swings a cross that is headed away by Van Dijk.
9 min Szoboszlai’s cross from the right is headed away as far as Robertson. He tries to whip a cross back towards Salah but overhits it. It’s been a fun, fast start to the game.
5 min: Rogers hits the post!
Morgan Rogers, just inside the area to the left of centre, whips a shot that thumps the far post and rebounds to safety. A brilliant effort from Rogers, who had also started the move with a superb long pass out to Watkins.
4 min The away end cheer lustily when the ball rolls out of play after Gakpo fails to control a crossfield pass from Konate.
2 min Gravenberch’s shot from distance is blocked on the edge of the area. Liverpool, as you’d expect, have come flying out of the traps.
1 min Aston Villa, in white, kick off from left to right as we watch. Great atmosphere at Anfield.
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On the ball – guess the footballer
The Guardian (that’s us, folks) has kicked off a new chapter in puzzles with the launch of its first daily football game, On the ball. It is now live in the app for both iOS and Android … so what are you waiting for?
“I’m on the train with a bunch of Pompey lads who wont get home ‘til about midnight after a 4-0 shellacking at St Andrew’s,” writes Gary Naylor. “That they’re in good spirits and planning another away day to Hull, speaks to the irrational nature of the football fan, the game a largely safe space for an otherwise dangerous indulgence.
“That irrationality wants Liverpool to be in crisis, loves the prospect of the inquests in the morning, the phone-ins that will demand his Slot’s head on a stick and Salah and Van Dijk to be sold in January. It’s childish and all but indefensible - but millions of us feel like this!”
Dear Liverpool fans, Gary’s contact details are available for a small fee.
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All set? This could be a cracker. I’m predicting Liverpool 4-3 Aston Villa.
A reminder of the teams
Liverpool (4-2-3-1) Mamardashvili; Bradley, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Gravenberch, Mac Allister; Salah, Szoboszlai, Gakpo; Ekitike.
Subs: Woodman, Pecsi, Gomez, Endo, Kerkez, Wirtz, Chiesa, Nyoni, Ngumoha.
Aston Villa (4-2-3-1) Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Pau, Digne; Onana, Kamara; Guessand, Rogers, McGinn; Watkins.
Subs: Bizot, Maatsen, Lindelof, Mings, Bogarde, Barkley, Sancho, Malen, Broggio.
Referee Stuart Attwell.
“Yeah, Liverpool were top of the league a few weeks ago, but in all honesty, they weren’t playing a huge amount better then than they are now,” writes Matt Dony. “That mad run of late winners wasn’t sustainable. Sometimes a team has good luck, sometimes they have bad luck, and you just have to hope it all evens out.
“This group of players is too good to be this mediocre for a long period, things will certainly click into place at some point. But I fear it may not be enough. I worry that (already) the title may be gone. The psychological impact of this spell will likely linger, for both Liverpool AND Arsenal.
“Still, a few pride-restoring wins in the short term would be a big help. And, hey, if not tonight, there’s always Real Madrid and Man City to come in the next few days. What could possibly go wrong…”
The Premier League table going into tonight’s game
Liverpool (10th) and Villa (11th) will jump to third if they win. It’s like snakes and bloody ladders.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal | 10 | 15 | 25 |
| 2 | AFC Bournemouth | 9 | 5 | 18 |
| 3 | Tottenham Hotspur | 10 | 9 | 17 |
| 4 | Chelsea | 10 | 7 | 17 |
| 5 | Sunderland | 9 | 4 | 17 |
| 6 | Man Utd | 10 | 1 | 17 |
| 7 | Man City | 9 | 10 | 16 |
| 8 | Crystal Palace | 10 | 5 | 16 |
| 9 | Brighton | 10 | 2 | 15 |
| 10 | Liverpool | 9 | 2 | 15 |
| 11 | Aston Villa | 9 | 1 | 15 |
| 12 | Brentford | 10 | -2 | 13 |
| 13 | Newcastle | 9 | 1 | 12 |
| 14 | Fulham | 10 | -2 | 11 |
| 15 | Everton | 9 | -3 | 11 |
| 16 | Leeds | 10 | -8 | 11 |
| 17 | Burnley | 10 | -7 | 10 |
| 18 | Nottm Forest | 10 | -12 | 6 |
| 19 | West Ham | 9 | -13 | 4 |
| 20 | Wolverhampton | 10 | -15 | 2 |
Updated
Premier League result: Spurs 0-1 Chelsea
Joao Pedro’s goal gave Chelsea victory at Spurs – but they could have won by four or five. Scott Murray is following that one.
Arne Slot makes three changes from last Saturday’s defeat at Brentford. Andy Robertson replaces the struggling Milos Kerkez at left-back; Ryan Gravenberch and Alexis Mac Allister come in for Curtis Jones and Florian Wirtz.
Just one changed to the Villa side that beat Manchester City: Evann Guessand comes in for the injured Emi Buendia.
Team news
Liverpool (4-2-3-1) Mamardashvili; Bradley, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Gravenberch, Mac Allister; Salah, Szoboszlai, Gakpo; Ekitike.
Subs: Woodman, Pecsi, Gomez, Endo, Kerkez, Wirtz, Chiesa, Nyoni, Ngumoha.
Aston Villa (4-2-3-1) Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Pau, Digne; Onana, Kamara; Guessand, Rogers, McGinn; Watkins.
Subs: Bizot, Maatsen, Lindelof, Mings, Bogarde, Barkley, Sancho, Malen, Broggio.
Referee Stuart Attwell.
Updated
Arne Slot has said the Liverpool hierarchy share his views on the reasons for the team’s slump and he will not abandon an attacking style in search of a way out. The head coach admitted that six defeats in seven games was unacceptable before Aston Villa’s visit on Saturday and denied making excuses for Liverpool’s worst domestic run in 72 years.
Slot accepted the pressure was on before his makeshift team exited the Carabao Cup against Crystal Palace on Wednesday. That pressure to arrest the slide, however, is not, he insisted, coming from Liverpool’s owner, Fenway Sports Group, FSG’s chief executive of football, Michael Edwards, or the sporting director, Richard Hughes, after a summer transfer outlay of almost £450m.
Preamble
In a dim, distant past – five and a bit weeks ago – Liverpool were top of the Premier League, 12 points clear of 18th-placed Aston Villa. Now the two clubs are level on points, snuggled together in mid-table.
Villa’s recovery is a reminder that things change very quickly in football; that bad patches are almost unavoidable and you just have to ride them out. Easier said than done, especially when you:
a) are the reigning champions
b) are one of the biggest clubs in the world
c) spent eye-watering wonga in the summer and
d) exist in a culture that has gone completely mad
The good news for Arne Slot is that there’s a simple solution: if Liverpool win tonight, the bloodlustful masses will look elsewhere. At least until the next game.
Kick off 8pm.
