Aston Villa put seven goals past an incompetent Liverpool FC side on a Sunday afternoon at Villa Park to hand the Reds their worst defeat in a league fixture since 1963.
A horrid show of defensive work by the Reds and inefficiency in front of the goal to put away clear goalscoring chances came back to haunt the Anfield giants following the close of the game, with the result meaning that Liverpool FC were unable to maintain a perfect 100 per cent record to their three-game winning streak in a new season of top-flight football in England.
TEAM NEWS
The Reds did not have the best of team new coming their way prior to kick-off, with Sadio Mane already being a major absence for Jurgen Klopp’s side after his COVID-19 test came out to be positive, Alisson Becker was ruled out in a late announcement by the club after sustaining a shoulder injury in training and was replaced by Adrian between the sticks for the game against Dean Smith’s men.
MATCH REPORT
And it was the Spanish goalkeeper’s callous error which allowed Aston Villa to open the scoring in only the fourth minute of the Villa Park showdown. Ollie Watkins, the hosts club-record signing of this summer’s transfer window, tucked the ball into the back of the net from close range following Adrian’s misplaced pass to Joe Gomez.
Villa soon added another goal to their tally when Watkins scored his second of the afternoon after Jack Grealish found his teammate with a pinpoint delivery into the box.
Liverpool FC did attempt to trouble opposing goalkeeper Emi Martinez with a number of efforts on the Villa goal, however, the ex-Arsenal shot-stopper was able to deny both Salah and Firmino with their respective chances, before the former managed to find the back of the net with a thunderous finish.
Any hopes of a comeback from the Reds were dashed away by Dean Smith’s men, with Ross Barkley, Villa’s newest capture in the summer, failed to convert his chance past Adrian. From the resulting corner kick, however, McGinn’s first-time effort on goal caught Virgil van Dijk’s deflection to give the hosts a two-goal lead.
Just minutes later, Watkins’ header from a free-kick completed his hat-trick as Villa took a three-goal advantage heading into the close of the first half.
Even after the second-half began, there were no signs of the Reds being in a position to stage the unlikeliest of comeback victories at Villa Park due to the hosts defending deep and making the most of Liverpool FC’s defensive highline.
The introduction of Takumi Minamino did little to change Liverpool FC’s futile attempts at scoring past Martinez and a moment of solo brilliance by Ross Barkley led to Klopp’s side conceding their fifth goal of the afternoon when the England international’s shot flew past Adrian into the far corner of the net.
Salah did pull one back for his side, however, the Egyptian’s striker proved to be a little too late for his side’s hopes of rescuing at least a point from their trip to the Midlands.
7 – Liverpool are the first reigning English top-flight champions to ship seven goals in a league match since Arsenal against Sunderland in September 1953. Embarrassed. #AVLLIV pic.twitter.com/CAnLAPG7b5
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) October 4, 2020
Two late goals in a span of just ten minutes from Villa skipper Jack Grealish meant that the hosts put seven past the defending Premier League champions, and dishing out an embarrassing outing for Liverpool FC at Villa Park.
MATCH STATS
SCORE: 7-2
Possession: Aston Villa FC- 30% Liverpool FC- 70%
Yellow Cards: Aston Villa FC- 2 Liverpool FC- 1
Shots: Aston Villa FC- 18 Liverpool FC- 14
Offsides: Aston Villa FC- 2 Liverpool FC- 1
Concerns on Jurgen Klopp’s mind post the loss at Villa Park
The Liverpool FC boss will undoubtedly be concerned about the speculated long-term absence of first-choice goalie Alisson Becker as the Brazil international recovers from a recent shoulder injury setback. Alisson’s deputy in the game against Aston Villa, Adrian, endured a rather horrid showing between the sticks and his error in the opening minutes was crucial to the hosts’ first goal of the afternoon.
A number of shambolic individual performers in Roberto Firmino and Joe Gomez against Villa will be bound to trouble Klopp heading into the international break as the Reds’ next Premier League fixture is against Everton, who are on top of the league standings with four wins out of as many games.
