5th July 2020
By Adam Holt
Liverpool 2 (Mane '71, Jones 89')
Aston Villa 0
Games are running out for Villa to secure Premier League survival - and a trip to Anfield was the next battle for Villa in their bid to secure survival. Positivity before this game was limited somewhat, given that Liverpool has won every game at Anfield in the Premier League this season so the challenge facing Villa was, well, huge.
First the line ups...
1 - Alisson (GK)
66 - Alexander-Arnold
12 - Gomez
4 - Van Dijk (C)
26 - Robertson
15 - Oxlade-Chamberlain
3 - Fabinho
8 - Keita
11 - Salah
27 - Origi
10 - Mane
Subs: 5 - Wijnaldum, 9 - Firmino, 13 - Adrian (GK), 14 - Henderson, 18 - Minamino, 23 - Shaqiri, 48 - Jones, 67 - Elliott & 76 - Williams.
Aston Villa:
29 - Reina (GK)
15 - Konsa
30 - Hause
40 - Mings
3 - Taylor
10 - Grealish (C)
6 - Luiz
7 - McGinn
21 - El Ghazi
39 - Davis
17 - Trezeguet
Subs: 8 - Lansbury, 11 - Nakamba, 14 - Hourihane, 20 - Samatta, 23 - Jota, 24 - Guilbert, 25 - Nyland (GK), 27 - Elmohamady & 36 - Vassilev.
You don't get many more difficult games in world football nowadays, with the newly crowned Premier League Champions unbeaten at Anfield this season (domestically) this was always going to be an almost insurmountable task for Aston Villa in this game - especially when the likes of Manchester City, Manchester United and Arsenal have fallen to Liverpool at Anfield this campaign. Getting anything here would have been an astonishing achievement for the relegation threatened Villans. Despite all of this, this was still a chance for Villa to strengthen their case for Premier League survival, especially after Liverpool's thrashing by Manchester City (4-0) last time out. Despite this, most people associated with Villa just wanted the team to keep the score as low as possible for the sake of pride, confidence and goal difference.
The first half of the match saw neither side creating many chances, with Liverpool remaining toothless for the first half, with Villa holding strong and showing defensive solidity, which has been absent for the majority of the campaign, made clear by the fact that Villa have conceded the most goals in the Premier League this season. Given this fact, it was very surprising to see a 0-0 scoreline at half time. The champions had dominated the ball, having most of the possession in the first period - but Villa, clearly playing on the counter attack did have a few forays into Liverpool territory with the attacks looking promising until a block or tackle came in, but it was a poor end product that hampered Villa's chances of scoring in this game, with most crosses ending up in the hands of the Liverpool goalkeeper, Alisson.
The second half came with the same script, until a pass the Sadio Mane in the 71st minute sliced Villa's defence in half, with the ex-Southampton man converting Liverpool's first golden opportunity of the game. 1 - 0 to the Champions. Aston Villa were still able to launch counter attacks, but again the end product was poor and Villa were unable to convert any potential chances of getting any points in the game. Perhaps Villa's best chance of the game came through Villa skipper Jack Grealish, who was able to cut inside the Liverpool six yard box and launched a curling shot that was saved by Alisson. It was then heartbreak for Villa, when Curtis Jones, just off the Liverpool bench converted a close range chance to score Liverpool's second, putting the game and Villa's resistance to an end. 2 - 0 to the champions.
The first half of the match saw neither side creating many chances, with Liverpool remaining toothless for the first half, with Villa holding strong and showing defensive solidity, which has been absent for the majority of the campaign, made clear by the fact that Villa have conceded the most goals in the Premier League this season. Given this fact, it was very surprising to see a 0-0 scoreline at half time. The champions had dominated the ball, having most of the possession in the first period - but Villa, clearly playing on the counter attack did have a few forays into Liverpool territory with the attacks looking promising until a block or tackle came in, but it was a poor end product that hampered Villa's chances of scoring in this game, with most crosses ending up in the hands of the Liverpool goalkeeper, Alisson.
The second half came with the same script, until a pass the Sadio Mane in the 71st minute sliced Villa's defence in half, with the ex-Southampton man converting Liverpool's first golden opportunity of the game. 1 - 0 to the Champions. Aston Villa were still able to launch counter attacks, but again the end product was poor and Villa were unable to convert any potential chances of getting any points in the game. Perhaps Villa's best chance of the game came through Villa skipper Jack Grealish, who was able to cut inside the Liverpool six yard box and launched a curling shot that was saved by Alisson. It was then heartbreak for Villa, when Curtis Jones, just off the Liverpool bench converted a close range chance to score Liverpool's second, putting the game and Villa's resistance to an end. 2 - 0 to the champions.
Player of the Match: Sadio Mane - Mane always causes problems for Villa, seemingly scoring in every game he plays in against the Villans, and he was able to convert Liverpool's first real chance - once again sinking Aston Villa.
One last thing...
Despite losing the game in the end, Villa can come away from this game with their heads held high, after managing to stop Liverpool for seventy minutes which is quite an achievement when you consider how potent the Reds have been in front of goal this season. Villa, also looked promising on the counter attack, despite the lack of end product. Villa can take some optimism going into their last few games of the Premier League season - if Villa keep playing like this (but also converting chances) then Villa may have a good chance of securing safety. But, whatever happens, securing safety will be a huge challenge - especially if Watford beat Norwich City on Tuesday night, but Villa have to fight until the end.