Liverpool 2-1 Aston Villa: 5 talking points as Reds move into the top four | Premier League 2020-21
In an entertaining game at Anfield today, Liverpool gained some revenge over Aston Villa by defeating them 2-1.
The win was Liverpool's first at Anfield in the Premier League since December.
Despite being under the cosh for the great majority of the game, Villa took the lead late in the first half through Ollie Watkins, who slid the ball under Alisson after a counter-attack.
Liverpool thought they’d equalized just minutes later, but a controversial VAR call chalked off Roberto Firmino’s goal, apparently deciding Diogo Jota was offside in the build-up.
But the Reds finally drew level after 57 minutes, when a shot from Andrew Robertson was saved, only to land at the feet of Mohamed Salah - who struck home.
The second half saw both sides miss key chances, with Trezeguet hitting the post for Villa.
But with just added time remaining, Trent Alexander-Arnold struck a wonderful goal to hand the Reds all three points, moving them into the top four.
Here are five talking points from Liverpool’s win over Aston Villa.
#1 Alexander-Arnold sends Southgate a message with his late goal
It’s probably safe to say that Trent Alexander-Arnold hasn’t been in the best form as of late.
The 22-year old Liverpool right-back was left out of Gareth Southgate’s most recent England squad. And earlier this week, he had an absolute stinker as the Reds fell to a Champions League defeat against Real Madrid.
However, with Southgate in attendance today, Alexander-Arnold produced one of his best performances in some time.
It was clear that part of Aston Villa’s game plan was to target the young defender, but Trezeguet and Ollie Watkins didn’t really have much success against him.
The England defender completed three of his five tackles successfully – the most of any Liverpool player. Alexander-Arnold contributed going forward, too, with a 75% pass success rate and three key passes.
And of course, with added time ticking away, it was Alexander-Arnold who found the winner.
After Emiliano Martinez made a crucial save, a poor clearance found its way to the right-back, who bent the ball around Jacob Ramsey and into the net past the Argentine keeper.
It was a fantastic goal to cap off a great showing and hopefully, Southgate will now be sold. To be quite frank, Alexander-Arnold offers so much more than the limited Kyle Walker and should definitely go to the European Championship this summer.
#2 Are Liverpool’s mentality monsters back?
While all of the press coverage going into today’s game focused on Aston Villa’s 7-2 win over Liverpool in October, interestingly enough, the result mirrored the game between these two sides in November 2019.
That match took place at Villa Park and saw Dean Smith’s side take a first-half lead through Trezeguet. Liverpool kept plugging away, though, and eventually won 1-2, thanks to Andrew Robertson and Sadio Mane's late goals.
It was the kind of result that summed up Jurgen Klopp’s so-called ‘mentality monsters.' And sure enough, Liverpool went on to lift the Premier League trophy at the end of the season.
Recently though, it’s been easy to question the mentality of the Reds.
Coming into today’s game, they’d lost their last five home games in the Premier League – last winning at Anfield back in December.
And while their dismantling of Arsenal last weekend seemed to suggest a return to form, their midweek collapse against Real Madrid certainly did not.
So could today give them the momentum they need to push for a top-four spot?
It’s definitely possible. Liverpool didn’t perform brilliantly today, but they certainly outplayed Villa, coming away with 67% possession and nearly three times the amount of shots as their opponents.
More to the point, despite the game seeming destined for a draw, the Reds found a way to win. Only time will tell if it can last, but for this afternoon at least, Klopp’s ‘mentality monsters’ are back.