When Liverpool FC needed a little support, their opponents provided it. With its mistakes, Aston Villa laid the foundation for a redemptive 2-0 (1-0) win for the “Reds”. In particular, Mohamed Salah’s opening goal (45th + 1 minute) was thanks to the opponent, and there was also a lot of help in Ryan Gravenberch’s goal (58th).
The “Reds” have not experienced a phase like the current one for a long time; Arne Slot’s team had lost six of the previous seven games and only celebrated a landslide victory in the Champions League against Eintracht Frankfurt (5-1). During the week there was a clear 0-3 defeat against Crystal Palace in the League Cup, unlike there, Slot brought his first guard against Aston Villa again – which for the coach does not currently include Florian Wirtz (was substituted in the 77th minute).
Whistles from the “Reds” fans, strong Mamardashvili
The ex-Leverkusen player had to go back to the bench and hope that his colleagues could turn things around without him. But this project quickly turned out to be extremely difficult. Liverpool needed a lot of luck in the fifth minute when Morgan Rogers hit the post from 15 meters. Instead of relief in the stands, there were whistles for the hosts, and only after a few moments did the fans cheer on their team again.
The “Reds” then presented themselves better and Dominik Szoboszlai had the first good opportunity with a shot from 20 meters just wide of the goal (15th) – but Villa remained the more dangerous team. Matty Cash shot from the right and Virgil van Dijk deflected the ball so that Giorgi Mamardashvili had to make an extraordinary save to keep a clean sheet (19th). The Georgian was also there for Roger’s attempt, but the task wasn’t quite as big (21′).
Szoboszlai misses, but Martinez allows Salah to score
Then Szoboszlai had the lead – but his finish perfectly represented Liverpool’s situation. The ex-Leipziger won the ball and had the choice of whether to play left or right or finish with force, but instead he pushed the ball into the arms of goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez (23′) much too casually and weakly. The Argentine also confidently parried Szoboszlai’s free kick in the 33rd minute.
Shortly before half-time, Hugo Ekitiké scored to give the Reds the lead, but the goal was conceded by VAR due to a clear offside position (44′). But shortly afterwards, Martinez actually gave the hosts the 1-0 advantage when he played the ball into Salah’s feet and the winger pushed it directly into the empty goal (45th + 1). It was a very special goal for the living club legend, as it was his 250th in a Liverpool jersey.
Liverpool’s relief after Gravenberch’s goal
And Villa also played a big part in the 2-0 defeat. After a weak clearance, the defense of coach Unai Emery’s team was disorganized at the back, Gravenberch was completely free to finish from 20 meters and the shot was deflected unstoppably (58th). And it seemed as if that was the decision because there was almost nothing going forward from Villa.
And so the crowd at Anfield was in good form again. After whistles were blown at the beginning of the first half, Slot was sung for the second time during the game, the hope that the difficult time could now really be over was alive. This was also reflected in the table, as a win would catapult Liverpool into third place, at least until Sunday.
Donyell Malen (71′) and Ross Barkley (78′) made people sit up and take notice offensively, but overall Villa were no longer able to put the “Reds” in danger. After the defending champions started the Premier League with five wins, there was another win after four defeats. Unlike the win against Frankfurt, this feeling of success should be more lasting; on Tuesday the slot team will want to follow up in the Champions League against Real Madrid (9 p.m.).