LIVERPOOL 1-0 ASTON VILLA: MOHAMED SALAH PENALTY DENIES STEVEN GERRARD ON ANFIELD RETURN
A Mo Salah penalty was just enough to see Liverpool past an ever-improving Aston Villa side on a fiery Anfield return for Steven Gerrard.
The Egyptian was a threatening blur without creating a clear cut chance until he was toppled in the box by Tyrone Mings. The low finish was assured and Liverpool never looked back.
New manager Gerrard will be delighted with the way his team played, despite the result. They have looked so much more assured in possession since he took over and pose more of a threat going forward. This was always going to be a free hit for his team, but Gerrard would have been desperate to give a good account of himself.
Liverpool looked to set the tempo from the off and swooped on Martinez in the Villa goal from the first whistle. But once the likes of Marvelous Nakamba and Ashley Young got on the ball, the visitors looked much more assured.
The game plan was clearly to give the likes of Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold the run of the wings and mop up the danger when it reached the edge of the box. A dangerous one, but it served Gerrard’s men well in the first half.
Liverpool’s chances in the opening period came courtesy of Salah’s gorgeous footwork on the right. All he was missing was his goal as he and Mane turned the Villa full-backs inside out.
But Aston Villa weren’t without chances of their own. Uncharacteristically shaky performances from Virgin Van Dijk and Allison in goal gave Villa a glimpse, led by one of the league’s great survivors, the 36-year-old Young.
The second half saw Liverpool fly out of the blocks once again and the pressure build on the Aston Villa goal. Salah was orchestrating lay-offs and shimmies in his own personal freeholding in the Villa box but struggled to make any clear chances.
The frustration built with the Anfield crowd as Villa nearly always managed to erect a wall at the last moment.
Tyrone Mings was immense until the moment he toppled Salah with some lumpen defending. The penalty was dispatched coolly to the bottom right of Martinez’s goal.
Hearing the back of the net rustle added teeth to an attack that was starting to grow frustrated and Salah continued to buzz and threaten, giving Aston Villa enough problems at the back that didn't dare push for the equaliser.
Liverpool old-boy Danny Ings came on in the closing moments and suddenly Villa found a focal point. Unfortunately he was not on the pitch long enough to really make his presence felt.
The visitors ended the game with a flurry but the quality and intensity of Liverpool showed Gerrard just how big the gap is to the pinnacle of the league.
The new Aston Villa manager was welcomed back to Anfield warmly, but the generosity of spirit only lasted until the first whistle. This was all about the result for Liverpool who had seen Manchester City move further clear, beating Wolves in the early kick-off.
Jurgen Klopp will feel his team should have scored more, but this was an emotional occasion that just needed to be ticked off.
Gerrard will never be happy with a loss but he can be happy with how far he has dragged this team in five games.
TALKING POINT - GERRARD THE MANAGER’S METHODS COMING TO THE FORE
As a player Steven Gerrard seemed to run on pure emotion. His surges from deep and improbable strikes were born more out of a refusal to lose than a surgical game plan.
At times this full-throttle approach cost Liverpool, none more so than his slip in a loss to Chelsea.
As a manager, he has been much more considered and that was on show again here. Despite the result, Aston Villa were well drilled and hard to break down, perhaps showing the caution that Gerrard wished he had brought to his own game.
Whether he goes on to manage Liverpool or not (he will) this is a managerial career that is already defined by a style and meticulous approach. It’s not the way Gerrard played, but you feel that if he could have a word with his younger self, he may just have claimed the one trophy that eluded him.
MAN OF THE MATCH - MO SALAH
You guessed it. With another goal and a glittering performance that knitted everything Liverpool created together, Mo Salah was immense.
His quick feet and crucial movements with the ball caused trouble throughout and it was a matter of time before a defender fell under his spell. It was Tyrone Mings who can hardly be blamed for clipping his heels.
He kept his cool with the penalty and only looked increasingly dangerous, despite the score remaining one-nil.
The Best Player in the World (Right Now)™ earned his title once more.
PLAYER RATINGS
Liverpool: Alisson 6, Alexander-Arnold 7, Matip 7, Van Dijk 6, Robertson 7, Henderson 7, Fabinho 6, Thiago Alcántara 6, Salah 8, Mane 7, Oxlade-Chamberlain 6. Subs: Milner 6, Minamino 5, Jota 7.
Aston Villa: Martinez 7, Cash 6, Mings 5, Konsa 6, Targett 6, Luiz 6, Nakamba7, McGinn 7, A. Young 7, Ramsey 6, Watkins 6. Subs: Sanson 6, Buendía 6, Ings 7.
KEY MOMENTS
11’ A cute Salah dummy leaves the ball to the feet of Alexander-Arnold. Targett does brilliantly to throw himself at it. Great play all round. That was heading goalwards.
16’ Close! A Robertson header takes a late deflection off a thigh and Martinez does brilliantly to get down to his right to stop it. That was excellent goalkeeping.
19’ Just over! Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain shoots from range. That came from a late challenge in the middle of the park. Liverpool lap up the advantage and the shot could have been spectacular.
25’ Robertson sits down one or two Villa players with a burst of speed and lovely swerve. He goes down far too easily and receives an earful for his troubles.
43’ Very close. Salah breaks and cuts inside with ease. Martinez saves well to his left. As well as Villa have played, the prospect of another 45 minutes of this is a scary one.
64’ Penalty! Mings, who has been immaculate, misjudged the blur of Salah's heels and clips him. VAR to check, however…
66’ Scored! Salah, having won the spot kick, slots home to the bottom corner. It is more than deserved. Martinez went the right way but that was the near-perfect pen.
86’ Allison wobbles again! He charges from his box and slams his clearance straight into the chasing Villa player. The deflection is kind.
90’+3 That should have been it! Jota puts it over from 12 yards. They are making the Kop sweat.
KEY STATS
Liverpool’s win was the fourth of nine games that Liverpool will play in December. The last Premier League team to play more was Middlesbrough in April 2006. Boro played ten games in the league, FA Cup and Europe, winning three and a place in the Uefa Cup quarter-final.
Salah’s goal meant that Liverpool equalled a club record of scoring in 31 successive games, set in Division Two in 1958.
Mo Salah has scored or assisted in 14 consecutive games for Liverpool, just one shy of Jamie Vardy’s record.
